《Hakai Me no Yuuri》 Prologue 1: From Reincarnation to Rescue Prologue 1: From Reincarnation to Rescue ¡°Au¡­a?¡± I make out a something through my hazy vision. ¡­. Did I faint? If I remember correctly, I was in Lilith town¡­ ¡°I seems that you¡¯ve finally woken up.¡± Suddenly being spoken to, my body jolted and I tensed up. I retreated at once to the back corner of the bed and hugged my arms around myself, starting to tremble in fear. In the corner of the room is a man in the prime of his life (TL: approximately 30 ¨C 40 years old), the embodiment of the ¡°Romance gray¡± look. On his finger is a ring emitting a dim glow. I¡¯ve seen it before. It¡¯s the [Ring of Resistance]. ¡°Hii, hiiiii¨C!?¡± I remembered! ¨C I became a little girl, then in Lilith town¡­ I feel a warm wet sensation between my legs. It appears I peed myself. People¡­ are scary!? ¡°There¡¯s no helping it since you went through such an experience¡­ I completely understand. If possible, could I have you tell me what happened?¡± ¡°Ah, S-, SOR, Rr, ry. I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. First we should introduce ourselves. I, of all people, seem to have rushed things a bit again.¡± With that, he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a pipe. ¡°Do you mind if I smoke? Regrettably, without this I cannot speak smoothly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Go ahead¡­¡± The man slightly winked and took a puff from the pipe. ¡°My name is Hast¡¯al. A magician currently developing magic instruments. My specialty is wind attribute magic. ¡°Ah, my¡­ name¡­ is Yuuri.¡± ¡°Yuuri-kun, huh? Nice to meet you. You know, I heard that Lilith town had [Fallen]. I headed over here to take a look and found it in that state.¡± My body trembled. Without a doubt, I was the cause. ¡°From the outskirts of the town, I had the wind to carry sleeping medicine and disabled the townspeople for me. It seemed you¡¯d be attacked there, so I took you under my care.¡± ¡°Th¡­thank¡­ you¡­¡± For the first time since being born, I gave thanks from the bottom of my heart. It seems he saved me from that hell. Reaching back into my memories, I begin to recount the things that took place. Though, of course, I conceal the things I can¡¯t talk about. In those days, I was a hopeless excuse for a man. Having given up on everything after having failed at finding employment (though there were several other guys in the same situation as me), I spent my days leisurely playing around. It was then, at the train station on my way back home from killing time at the arcade that it happened. At the train station platform, I stood mindlessly watching the inbound train when the ossan next to me started to jump onto the incoming train¡¯s rail tracks. ¡°O, Oi!!¡± Reflexively extending my hand, I attempted to catch the ossan, but instead my arm got tangled. My bracelet ¨C the spoils of my day at the arcade ¨C got caught on the ossan¡¯s wrist watch. The two of us, entangled, fell onto the railway tracks together. The train mercilessly proceeded forwards. I could clearly see the frightened face of the train driver. My arms and legs were shredded, my head ¨C sent flying, my bones ¨C crushed¡­ The ossan and I were mangled together like ground beef and ground pork in ¡°Aibiki.¡± As just a head, I watched as this spectacle unfolded in front of me. Then finally, under a wheel of the train my head was¡­ When I came to, I was in a pure white room with pure white ceiling. Everything was too white; even the boundary between the floor and the wall wasn¡¯t clearly distinguishable. In front of me is a desk with packed with stacks of papers and a worn-out looking middle aged man. It appears to be a different man from the ossan that jumped. ¡°I have bad news for you.¡± With those words, self-proclaimed ¡°God¡± started to explain the situation. Apparently, because of the ineptitude of a newbie grim reaper, I, who was not supposed to die, got caught up in the ossan¡¯s death and died along with him. So, while it¡¯s impossible in my former world considering the state of my body, it is possible for me to be reincarnated into a different world. Such a clich¨¦ option was suggested. ¡°Is there any world you prefer? Also since it was due to our ineptitude, right now we¡¯ll do as much as possible to accommodate you as possible.¡± Perhaps because I had witnessed my own shocking death, I was in a strange high strung state, but after contemplating for a while, I responded ¡°Then¡­ I want a body that is indestructible under any and all circumstances and an ageless and immortal existence. Also, the greatest talent in magic and¡­ youth, and a self-creating harem of the highest quality beauties. What I just came up with is an outrageous demand. For a while, ¡°God¡± angled his face in thought. ¡°I¡¯ll do the best I can to grant your demands. I¡¯d like to act accordingly and think over what I can do for you.¡± A typical Japanese-like ambiguous response. ¡°Iya, is it really possible? I said all that partially joking, you know.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll say it again and again. It was due to our ineptitude, so I¡¯m prepared to agree to that level of reimbursement. However, don¡¯t expect all of your demands to be granted.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say that if just one were granted, that¡¯d be good enough, you know. If you¡¯d agree to that I¡¯d already have hope for the future.¡± ¡°Looking forward is most important. I¡¯d like you to live with that outlook on life on the other side. Since I have no jurisdiction over there, I¡¯ll no longer be able to lend a hand. So even God has jurisdiction. World wisdom ¨C tough, isn¡¯t it. ¡°Well then, Bon Voyage. Best of luck to you in your new life.¡± With that conversation having ended, I descended into this world. Prologue 2: Until I was Saved Prologue 2: Until I was Saved Before I realized, I had become a child ¡ª a naked, silver-haired crimsoned-eyed little girl at that! ¡°This isn¡¯t what I asked for! I demand a do-over!!¡± I shouted this in the a field to which I was transported, but no one came to my rescue. Testing out my stamina, I started to run. My pace was quite slow and after about 10 meters I was already out of breath. Plopping down on the grass covered field, I discovered a glowing dot in the left hand corner of my field of vision.Focusing on it, a translucent screen opened right in front of me, and white letters appeared on it. ¡°Uo! This is a status screen, right!?¡± In high spirits, began to check my data (stats and the like), but as I go through them I plummet into despair. Name: Yuuri | Race: Human Age: 10 | Sex: Little Girl Job: None | Title: None Height: 130cm | Weight: 28 kg (4''3") (62 lbs) Hair Color: Silver | Eye Color: Crimson Status: Normal (Nude) DEX: 1 (Dexterity) SPD: 1 (Speed) PHY: 1 (Physical Strength) VIT: 1 (Vitality) MAG: 1 (Magic Power) MND: 1 (Mind) (*TL: Stats subject to change as we find out what each one actually means and how it is used. Particularly VIT & INT might change to HP and MP.) Gifts: Adaptability, Immortal Body, Ageless Body, Peerless Magic, Golden Ratio Body, Sacred Treasure, Revival Growth, Appraisal (TL: Gift naming may change depending on what they actually are as the translation proceeds ) Excessively low stats, if my gifts are useful at least¡­ thinking that I examine their particulars. [Adaptability] Even if driven into extreme situations, one will obtain the relevant resistance to adapt. Resistances include resistance to poison, magic, and pain among others. [Immortal Body] (Enabled) Resist death even upon receiving wounds or being poisoned. (TL: resist, not negate) In the case of death, body will regenerate and revive one hour later. [Ageless Body] (Enabled) Body negates aging. One becomes an existence without a natural life-span. [Peerless Magic] Talent in all fields of magic. However, in order to increase magical abilities, it is necessary to train. [Golden Ratio Body] Body physique is that of the highest grade of beauty and the ideal proportions. Said physique will never deteriorate, and people of all kinds will be charmed by it. Body damage and injuries regenerate. [Sacred Treasure] Body that excites and provides the extreme pleasure regardless of gender or race. Boundaries of sexual desire disappear. [Revival Growth] Aside from normal growth, Being on the verge of dying or reviving from death result in strengthening of physical abilities. [Appraisal] Ability to view information regarding people and items. However, it is not possible in the case the information is "concealed". It appears ¡°God¡± did everything possible to fulfill my demands, doesn¡¯t it. In order to fulfill my request for ? an indestructible body he granted me [Adaptability], ? an ageless and immortal existence he granted me [Immortal Body] and [Ageless Body], ? the greatest talent in magic he granted me [Peerless Magic], ? the highest level of beauty he granted me [Golden Ratio Physique], ? harem-making powers he granted me [Sacred Treasure]. [Revival Growth] and [Appraisal] appear to be freebies. Apparently my age of 10 years old, is the result of fulfilling my request for youth to the extreme. You reap what you sow¡­ I guess. Leaving [Ageless Body] ¡°Enabled¡± is a no go. So I focus my mind on it, and it changes color to gray. It¡¯s probably safe to assume that it¡¯s now disabled. In any case, getting stuck at this age with perpetual youth would make me want to cry. If were at least 5 years older¡­ rather, if I were at least reincarnated as a boy¡­ I was checking my status when a man called out to me. I tried talking to him. It seems he¡¯s an adventurer. he even appears to have a girlfriend. This man also was wearing a [Ring of Resistance]. I was able gather this information with [Appraisal]. While telling him that I¡¯d be in his care until we reached the nearest town, his ring went flying off his finger and¡­ he assaulted he (sexually). When I opened my eyes the next morning, the man was dead. He had shriveled up, literally. It seems [Sacred Treasure] causes such an extreme pleasure. In addition, both my mind and magic stats increased each by 1 point. It looks like during the ¡°act¡± I wasn¡¯t able to bear it anymore and died. As your average Japanese person, my ability to sense danger is low. I understood how dangerous it was, but I didn¡¯t feel that much of a sense of danger. I completely understood it in my mind, but I wasn¡¯t actually able to feel it. And because of that, I did such a foolish thing¡­ attempting to deliver the dead adventurer¡¯s articles to his girlfriend. I discovered a map in the man¡¯s luggage. Then, having put on rain gear that covered me from head to toe to block my charming effect on others, I traveled to Lilith town arriving 3 days later. Winning over the gatekeeper with some flattery, I delivered the dead man¡¯s articles to the girlfriend. His girlfriend was grateful and offered that I stay the night. I carelessly accepted. That was the start of the incident. She entered the room as I was changing, laying her eyes directly on my uncovered body. And so ¡ª she too became charmed. The next morning, she was still alive. They say the pleasure that a woman can experience compared to that of what a man can experience is about 8 to 20 times greater. So then, was it the difference in stamina? At any rate, she was barely alive. The adventurer¡¯s cause of death was now clear. In a frenzy, she thew me out into the street naked. I don¡¯t even need to explain what happened to the onlookers who came over saying ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I continued to be assaulted. Male or female, old or young, adult or kid, It didn¡¯t even matter. It didn¡¯t make a bit of a difference. My gift charmed them all. Rape, Frenzy, Break, Death, and Revival. After an hour of putting up with it, I die again. And then an hour later, whether I want to or not, I revive again. It looks like my gift continued to charm them even while I was dead. My ability [Adaptation] doesn¡¯t let me go mad. One time, I tried cutting because I was in too much pain from having my heart broken. Rather than driving me mad, that was just painful. A soldier stopped, in less than a moment, was completely charmed and joined the uproarious fray. I one day, I experienced death ten times. I was trapped in a hell without being able to go crazy or die. This so-called ¡°cheat¡± of a gift¡­ is a curse. After 1 months time passed ¡ª The surrounding towns suspected that Lilith town had fallen into a bad situation. After 2 months time passed ¡ª The rumor that Lilith had ¡°fallen¡± to a succubus spread After 3 months time passed ¡ª A neighboring city dispatched it army to liberate Lilith. 100 citizens fell victim to them, but when the army reached the plaza¡­ they were all immediately charmed. After 4 month time passed ¡ª Another city dispatched it army. It concluded in the same way as it did in the third month¡¯s attempt. After 5 months time passed ¡ª In every town, its become that Lilith has become ¡°no more¡±. This is because not even the dispatched armies were spared. At this point in time, all of the men from Lilith town had died from exhaustion/weakness. And then, after 6 months time had passed ¡ª I was finally extended a saving hand. Prologue 3: It Ended up as an Apprenticeship Prologue 3: It Ended up as an Apprenticeship ¡°Fumu, I don¡¯t think you made this up on the fly, but¡­¡± Hast¡¯al quietly listen to ridiculous-sounding story. ¡°But, seeing that many of gifts, I¡¯d have no choice but be convinced.¡± That many? I had concealed the fact that had several gifts, so then¡­ have I been found out? ¡°What exactly are ¡­ gifts?¡± For the time being, I¡¯m in a girl¡¯s body, so I try my best to use polite language. ¡°As it is, gifts are ¡®presents bestowed by the gods¡¯. Of course like in Yuuri¡¯s case, not everyone with gifts has led a life of happiness due to them¡± ¡°This is more like a curse.¡± ¡°Yes, but instances of people with so many gifts is rare to say the least. Not to mention that all of your gifts are rare abilities. Putting all that together¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be surprised by anything anymore.¡± ¡°What the hell!? What are gifts!? Why¡¯d I have to go through all this!?¡± I response to Hast¡¯al¡¯s calm and composed treatment, I unreasonably lashed out at him with an angry and uncomposed tone. As if to calm me down, he sucked at his pipe, and in a composed voice continued to explain. ¡°It seems you don¡¯t know anything about gifts, so in regard to them, let me give an explanation. Usually, only 1 person of 100 might have a gift, and that gift is completely random. [Weather Prediction], [Business Aptitude], [Arithmetic]¡­ among which there even appears to exist the gift [Rock-Paper-Scissors Winner].¡± [Rock-Paper-Scissors Winner]? ¡­ Instead, that one¡¯s good since it¡¯s harmless. At this point I can say, I want to trade my gifts for it. ¡°Of course, even without the respective gift, it is still possible to learn arithmetic or have aptitude for business. But the difference in growth and end result from whether or not one has it is like the difference between heaven and hell. That difference in aptitude is what we call a ¡®gift¡¯¡± Hast¡¯al spoke in a teacher-like matter-of-fact voice, but as he continued to get into what he was saying, his words came out even smoother. ¡°Useful skill are considered highly valuable. If one has a gift like [Fencing] or [Magic], the country will come and pick you up in showy welcoming fashion. I too received a similar treatment having [Wind Attribute Magic] and [Magic Tool Creation] gifts. I couldn¡¯t put up with their persistent invitations and eventually gave in.¡± ¡°Two?¡± ¡°Among those with gifts, there are those with multiple gifts as well. I don¡¯t mean to brag, but among those with gifts, those with two gifts are about 1 in 1,000¡± (TL: 1/1,000 among those with gifts, so 1/100,000 among the general population) If someone with two gifts is a 1 in 100,000 rare existence¡­ then I, with eight gifts, am actually extremely valuable? Maa, because of them I had to go through all of that. ¡°In a given country, there may or may not even be one person with three gift. And you ¨C It¡¯s hard to believe, but as far as I can see, you are endowed with four gifts, right?¡± ¡°You can see them¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been a magician for quite a long time now, you see. The ability to see through to the nature of something is the by far the most essential skill.¡± ¡°Four¡­ What do you see?¡± ¡°[Eternal Youth], [Immortality], [Golden Ratio], and [Sacred Treasure]. If I didn¡¯t have this ring on, I too would probably have a hard time and go through an unpleasant experience.¡± They are the four that made me experience hell. Is there no possibility to disable it in sight? ¡°Then¡­ be sure not to get close to me.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s not possible. You may not be aware of it, but you are an exceedingly dangerous existence.¡± I brought a town to ruin, so that seems reasonable. There are also many people that died because they came under my charm¡¯s influence. Apparently, the adventurer¡¯s girlfriend committed suicide. ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand, but you can bring a whole town ruin by yourself. You are like ¡®strategic arms¡¯ so to speak.¡± ¡°Since I caused so many deaths¡­ at this point, what can I even do to make up for it¡­?¡± Fully aware of my sins, I feel like I¡¯m about vomit. Atonement might not even take away this bad after-taste. ¡°Certainly. However, another way to look at it is that it was out of your control. Though it¡¯s still something that can be treated lightly.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way¡­ to die, is there?¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t know. But telling someone I saved to die doesn¡¯t sit right.¡± ¡°Sorry¡­¡± ¡°Anyhow, let us pray things get better with time. You have the time.¡± (TL: lol. Since he¡¯s got eternity to live) Speaking frankly ¨C I feel an impatience bordering on anger. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the topic on hand. If you were thrown smack-dab into the middle of an enemy country, that country would be destroyed. Or at the very least it would receive heavy damages. Many countries won¡¯t act ignoring such a threat. Don¡¯t you agree? Much less, there¡¯s no way a country won¡¯t try to get you involved to affect its own strength¡± ¡°I have no intention of getting involved, you know.¡± ¡°Even if you have no such intentions, they will come for you. Does the current you have control over your own powers?¡± ¡°If I did, I wouldn¡¯t have had to go through all of that.¡± ¡°Furthermore, powerful people will not leave you alone. Though slightly young, you are a beauty and your body lets other experience extreme pleasure. Not to mention you can double as war potential; you cannot die; you do not age¡­¡± At that point, a pensive look floated onto Hast¡¯al¡¯s face. ¡°Fumu¡­ Yuuri-kun, you, would you become my pupil.¡± ¡°Haaa?!?¡± Due to the rapid change in direction of the conversation, my brain just couldn¡¯t keep up. This is an even quicker development than when I died, don¡¯t you think? (TL: I¡¯m assuming his death back on Earth?) What¡¯s with that train of thought!? This guy, could it be that he¡¯s into Lolis? An existence known as a ¡®pervert gentleman¡¯? ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m not thinking improper things but¡­ If you become my student, I¡¯ll teach you how to control/suppress your abilities.¡± ¡°Is that possible!¡± ¡°Frankly, it¡¯s impossible for all of them. However, if it¡¯s just [Golden Ratio], the root of the problem, then I would think it to be possible.¡± ¡°The root of the problem¡­¡± That¡¯s right. If I can end up suppressing [Golden Ratio], then without exuding the charming effect, the pleasure-conferring sanity-stealing [Sacred Treasure] gift won¡¯t be activated. [Eternal Youth], [Immortality] and the other four gifts are by nature harmless, so¡­ If I am able to render useless these two gifts that were given to me to fulfill my demand for ¡®beauty¡¯ and a ¡®harem¡¯, then perhaps I¡¯ll be able to live a normal life. ¡°Truly¡­ can you truly do it?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s with my magical tool creation ability, then probably. Aa, right, let me add another condition¡± ¡°Eh, Mo, More?¡± ¡°You. Just a bit ago you used ¡º°³¡» (TL: Ore = I/me but very masculine) didn¡¯t you? That¡¯s prohibited. You¡¯re a precious a CUTE girl, so it a total waste if you refer to yourself that way.¡± ¡°Iya, I don¡¯t use it unless I lose my composure¡­ since I have this appearance.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re aware of it. Now then, since this ring of resistance seems to be at its limit, I¡¯ll take my leave. For a while, just make yourself at home while you wait here.¡± Hast¡¯al said this a he pushed his chair in before leaving. ¡°Aa, that¡¯s right. There¡¯s a well outside, so I¡¯ll leave cleaning up your bed-wetting to yourself. That reminds me, the area between my legs is freezing cold¡­ from having peed myself in fear. Not bed-wetting. But, that guy¡­ He didn¡¯t come even an inch closer to me the whole time. Was it from fear, maybe? And so, in this way I (ore = masculine)¡­ Iya, I (watashi = gender neutral) came to be Hast¡¯al the Wind Sage¡¯s pupil. Chapter 4: I Think I’ll do Some Physical Training Chapter 4: I Think I¡¯ll do Some Physical Training Three years have passed since I became Hast¡¯al¡¯s student. In these three years, I¡¯ve changed a lot. It¡¯s become that I¡¯m not even afraid of Teacher touching. Since I¡¯m still afraid of others, Teacher doesn¡¯t take me to places with people. Though occasionally guests come visit at his hideaway. Through this I know the current state of my condition. Oh right. Having a big issue with the way I talk, Teacher had me undergo training to even use polite language in my thoughts. Being scolded while kneeling in seiza is tough¡­ no matter what world you¡¯re in. Over these three years, I¡¯ve done nothing but study the foundations of magic, study the applications of magic, and do household chores¡­ but still fail at it. On the other hand, Teacher seems to have spent these past three years studying Yuuri¡¯s physical abilities. In any case, this body is unbelievable. Feeble. Delicate. Weak. Its physical abilities are low across the board. Each time I fail, I grumble to myself ¡°this isn¡¯t how it¡¯s supposed to be.¡± ¡°Even though I did so many times¡­ after calculations, it¡¯d easily pass 1,000 times¡­¡± That¡¯s right. I was in Lilith for about 180 days. Having died over ten time each day, my stats should have grown 1,800 times. ¡­Iya, surely I¡¯ve grown. [Revival Growth] wasn¡¯t disabled, so I was definitely GROWING? ¡°Thinking back, I did find it strange, since after dying so many times, it should have become progressively more difficult to die.¡± If I grew normally, my vitality should increase making it harder to die while, conversely, my growth should slow. And yet, I continued to die, almost rhythmically, up until the very end. I understood the cause right after beginning my discipleship. [Peerless Magic] This gift, in order to increase my aptitude for every type of magic, optimized my stat allocation to magic only. My stats are now this: Name: Yuuri | Race: Human Age: 13 (10yo Body)| Sex: Female Job: Apprentice | Title: None Practitioner | Height: 130cm | Weight: 28 kg (4''3") (62 lbs) Hair Color: Silver | Eye Color: Crimson Status: Normal DEX: 1 SPD: 1 PHY: 1 VIT: 1 MAG: 1836 MND: 1836 Gifts: Adaptability, Immortal Body, Ageless Body, Peerless Magic, Golden Ratio Body, Sacred Treasure, Revival Growth, Appraisal *(If you noticed in the previous chapter(s), [Immortal Body] is sometimes referred to as [Immortality], [Ageless Body] as [Eternal Youth], and [Golden Ratio Body] as [Golden Ratio] -- Essentially just getting rid of the "Body" part of each gift.) I wonder if there¡¯s ever been such an idiotic cheat like this before! Nope. Definitely not! But who knows. Maybe if I look hard enough I¡¯d find another¡­ I can¡¯t say for sure. But what¡¯s up with ¡°Sex: Female¡±. How rude! (TL: in the raws, Mesu (´Æ) is used which is used to refer to the sex of animals not people) I¡¯m not some visual novel¡¯s heroine! By the way, the average stat in this world should be about 10 to 14 points. Teacher is not normal with a Magic (MAG) stat in the 60s and Dexterity (DEX) and Mind (MND) stats in the 40s. That¡¯s three to four times the value of your average person. Amazing! Well, maybe that¡¯s not something I should say with 4-digit stats. ¡ª And as a result, I¡¯ve remained physically weak. Going to draw water from the well, I¡¯d drop the bucket. Harvesting medicinal herbs, I¡¯d collapse. Making magical tools, I wouldn¡¯t be able to lift hammer when I need it. Or getting carried off by a large bird (apparently a monster called a vulture), then being eaten head-first by man-eating plants¡­ right now. ¡°And lived a peaceful life. Period.¡± ¡°Nope. Not peaceful. O Wind, become a blade and sever¡± A shot of [Wind Blade] was fired making a crisp swishing sound. Teacher saves me with his magic as I shrugging my shoulders (like an American) ¡ª my head held in the mouth of a man-eating plant. ¡°Thank you, Teacher. It almost became a real-life Mamiru situation.¡± (TL: Madoka Magica reference it seems) ¡°Mamiru?¡± ¡°It¡¯s from my hometown¡­ something like being lifted by the head and having it eaten.¡± ¡°What a scary hometown.¡± Teacher threw me a towel. Even now that I can be touched by him, he won¡¯t come and touch me more than absolutely necessary. As expected, he¡¯s a gentleman. ¡°However, your physical weakness is a type of gift, Yuuri.¡± (Like it¡¯s amazing enough to be on the level of being a gift) ¡°Maa, it is the result of a gift I guess?¡± ¡°Certainly, not growing due to [Eternal Youth] does cause problems with respect to self-defense.¡± That¡¯s not really the problem though¡­ I grumble as I use the towel to wipe my large-framed glasses. These glasses were made for me by Teacher, and are a sealing device that renders powerless the charming effect of [Golden Ratio Body]. Teacher calls them [Sealing Magic Mirror], but I just call them [Sealing Glasses]. Thanks to wearing them, I now look like an incredibly CUTE little girl. Teacher has a strong will power, and claims ¡°Even without the sealing device, if it¡¯s only around 10 minutes, then I can hold out.¡± Even though its teacher, 10 minutes¡­ the Ring of Resistance sure is amazing. The adventurer I met at the beginning was able to keep his sanity for about 3 hours despite having an average strength of will by wearing it. ¡°Hmmm¡­ Yuuri, How do you feel about learning martial arts rather than magic for while?¡± ¡°Martial arts?¡± ¡°Umu, swordsmanship is not possible, but I did dabble a bit in Taijutsu a while back.¡± ¡°Taijutsu¡­ Do you think I¡¯d be able to do it?¡± ¡°It does really matter. Even if you can¡¯t do it, it¡¯s good enough if it increases your stamina.¡± Since I¡¯d very much rather not turn off my [Peerless Magic] gift and die in order to grow stronger, I¡¯ll challenge any other method. Returning to the hideaway, we installed a training post and started my training immediately. Considerately keeping from touching me, Teacher taught me the basics like the way to fold my fingers into a fist and the way to extend my arm out to punch. ¡°So to start, let¡¯s begin by practicing [Jab]. Grip you fist like this¡­ right. Now try it out by lightly punching this post.¡± ¡°Ei!¡± Crack ¡°Ni, niaaaaaaa!!¡± (TL: In pain) My finger! My finger! [Golden ratio Body] effect immediately healed the fracture, but that was ridiculously painful. No other effects aside from the charming effect are sealed, so the self-healing effect is still active. As expected from Teacher¡¯s magical device. ¡°H, how formidable¡­¡± Teacher, why are you looking this way with a fearful expression!? ¡°Un, punches seem dangerous, so let¡¯s go ahead with kicks. Raise your leg like this¡­¡± ¡°L, Like this?¡± ¡°Finally, while extending your toes, keep a good stance and put your weight into swinging your leg like a whip. This is called a roundhouse kick.¡± ¡°Fumu fumu¡­¡± ¡°Since the post is dangerous, face me and try kicking my hand.¡± ¡°Tou!¡± Crunch ¡°OoFuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!?¡± My groin! My hip jointtttttt! ¡°¡­Yuuri, don¡¯t collapse in such an unbecoming pose.¡± ¡°Even if you say that!¡± Though I¡¯m healed right away, I remained collapsed in pain for a while ¡ª my legs spread to my left and right making an M shape. Though I have [Adaptation], painful things are still painful. Or maybe I should say it extends the upper limit of how much pain I can withstand. By no means is it a gift that makes pain disappear. ¡°¡­Umu. Impossible.¡± ¡°Giving up so soon, teacher?¡± ¡°Do you want to try hitting the post one more time?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll decline.¡± I¡¯ll break something again, wont I? ¡°Anyways, Ill teach you the movements, so make stretching and fluidly practicing the movements into a daily routine. Also, add drinking 1 Liter of milk to the regimen.¡± ¡°U, Uuss!¡± (TL: In agreement/consent. Like ¡°ok!¡±) The following day, I was discovered having drowned in milk. Chapter 5: I’ll Try My Hardest Without Giving Up Chapter 5: I¡¯ll Try My Hardest Without Giving Up I¡¯ll try my hardest without giving up! ¡°I¡¯ve decided that Taijutsu is too dangerous since Yuuri¡¯s body is frail.¡± ¡°Yes, Teacher!¡± ¡°Therefore, from now on, we¡¯ll attempt training with a sword.¡± ¡°Teacher, weren¡¯t you unable to use a sword?¡± ¡°I realized yesterday that for Yuuri, it is more suitable.¡± ¡°There are no unarmed attacks.¡± Teacher brandishing a wooden sword. Doing so, his muscles ¡ª unexpectedly toned for his age, he already looks like a swordsman. So COOL! Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s fundamentally higher spec than the average person. ¡°First, posture yourself with the sword held leaning diagonally forwards¡­¡± ¡°Teacher, I can¡¯t lift it.¡± Seeing me trembling in exertion, Teacher brought me a smaller-sized wooden sword. ¡°How¡¯s this one?¡± ¡°So, somehow¡­ It seeeems, I, I can, L, Lift it!¡± (TL: speech is broken because Yuuri is having difficulties lifting it) I succeeded at lifting it, but in all honesty, I won¡¯t be able to wield it. I¡¯m shaking¡­ my arms, lots of other places. *Beki* Teacher snapped the blade of the short sword making it even smaller for me. Having become the approximately the length of an all-purpose knife, I can easily lift it ¡ª with two hands. (TL: all-purpose knife looks to be the longer, wider knife among the knifes in a standard kitchen knife set¡­ so maybe about the length of a person¡¯s forearm) ¡°Since it¡¯s you, you¡¯ll just have your wrist broken if we jump straight into practicing with contact. So, we¡¯ll start with practice swings.¡± ¡°I¡¯m deeply grateful that you understand, Teacher.¡± ¡°First, raise it directly over your head. For now, focus on your left hand, and it¡¯ll go straight up.¡± ¡°Homu homu¡­¡± Watching intently, I record his movements in my memory. This body is high in intelligence, so it¡¯s easy to learn physical skills. It¡¯s just really bad at reproducing them. ¡°From there, swing straight downwards. Only at the end, grip firmly with both hand and cleanly stop the swing.¡± Teacher swung down ¨C the sword making a whip-like cracking sound at the end. ¡°Since it¡¯s unnecessary to swing all the way down, I¡¯ll give it a try. Since if I swing all the way through, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll end up hitting the ground and hurting myself.¡± ¡°Though, I doubt you would be able to hit the ground at all with such a short sword.¡± ¡°Torya!¡± When I try swinging the sword myself, a *bun*, *supo¡¯*, then *zeku¡¯* sound ¡­ I try to swing down¡­ that¡¯s weird. There¡¯s no sword in my hand. Somehow, it teleported onto Teachers forehead. And it¡¯s even poking into him quite a bit. With blood flowing profusely from his head, Teacher asks ¡°Yuuri, you didn¡¯t happen to do that¡­on purpose, did you?¡± ¡°Ahaha, there¡¯s no way I would!?¡± As one would expect, this situation is pushing things ¡ª even for gentle Teacher. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, I¡¯m going to touch your hands for a bit.¡± My body trembled immediately. Though I say I¡¯m used to Teacher touching me, I¡¯m not completely used to it either, so my muscles tense up. Pretending not to notice, Teacher brings the sword and my hands together. It seem there¡¯s no end to my aversion to being touched, so thanks for not minding. Someday, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll become completely used to you. While in thought, Teacher ties together my hands around the sword with a towel absentmindedly. ¡°With this, the sword shouldn¡¯t slip out of your hands. Now, go ahead and try swinging it.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± It swings with a *bun*. This time, it doesn¡¯t slip from my hands. ¡°¡­¡­o?¡± *bun* *bun* *bun* ¡­ Getting excited like a kid, I start swinging repeatedly. ¡°oo, I can swing it! I can swing the sword, Teacher!¡± ¡°Good. By swinging the sword your physical strength should incr¡­¡­¡± *bun!* *bun!* *bun!* *Zuru¡¯* *goss!* Swinging the sword in high spirits, I lost my balance and my foot slipped. Without being able to use my hands since they were tied, I took a nosedive, face first, into the ground. ¡°Dnu, a, a, aaaaaaaaaa!!!¡± I roll on the ground in agony. It frickin¡¯ hurts! ¡°Yuuri¡­ as a girl, you shouldn¡¯t be rolling around on the ground with a bloody nose.¡± ¡°D, Deacher¡­. Id Hurts!¡± It¡¯s just past noon. Inside the Teacher¡¯s hideaway, I¡¯m tackling the challenge of strengthening my body. I¡¯m exercising in the bedroom¡­ its nothing suspicious. (TL: you perverts. lol) ¡°Now then, Yuuri.¡± ¡°Yes!? Teacher¡± ¡°We are magicians.¡± ¡°Riiiight. Teacher is the fit type, so sometimes I forget.¡± Teacher has a much better build/body than that of the average person. ¡°Anyways¡­ We are magicians. And as magicians, I believe that training the body and magic is first-and-foremost.¡± ¡°Though up until now, it¡¯s been in a completely roundabout way.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on the past.¡± ¡°But, according culmination of my knowledge, doing that¡­ won¡¯t that deviate from the true nature of a magician?¡± ¡°Quoting the Ancient times, ¡®That¡¯s that, this is this¡¯.¡± ¡°That saying exists here to, huh¡­¡± That¡¯s surprising, maybe someone other than me was reincarnated here before. ¡°With that said, you should wear this belt.¡± ¡°Belt¡­ so does electricity also run though it?¡± The ¡®Abutoru something-or-other System¡¯ belt, right? (TL: reference to some electronic fitness belt. I guess it uses electricity for something¡­ probably one of those ¡®amazing¡¯ but actually ¡®useless¡¯ products advertised on TV) ¡°Having electricity run through it would be dangerous, don¡¯t you think? All it does is shake.¡± ¡°Got it. It¡¯s THAT system.¡± I receive the belt and equip it. I put it on a bit tightly since it¡¯s supposed to shake, and then I flip the ¡®on¡¯ switch. ¡°O-o-o-o-o-o, th-th-th-i-i-i-i-s-s-s-s, loo-oo-oo-kk-ks li-i-i-ike it mi-i-i-ight w-w-o-ork, Teacher¡± The vapid vibrations shake my whole abdomen. It seems like this magical device is a success. In order to oppose the vibration, I can feel my abdominal muscles tighten on their own. ¡°Umu, it doesn¡¯t shake.¡± ¡°I-i-i-t is sha-a-a-a-king, you know-ow-ow-ow?¡± ¡°No, nothing.¡± Teacher¡¯ face makes a face of slight disappointment. ¡°For how long should I leave this attached?¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s right. Since leaving it on too long looks like it might cause bruising, ten minutes should be fine. ¡°Is that right? Being able to train my body even as I do household chores is nice¡­ upu¡± ¡°Upu?¡± Suddenly, I was attacked by this sensation ¡ª like a kind of seasickness feeling. ¡°T-t-t-teacher¡­ not good.¡± ¡°What is it? A defect?¡± ¡°I feel like throwing up ¡­ Oee¡± At first, Teacher expression showed that he didn¡¯t understand, but then a despair-filled expression appeared on his face. ¡°W, wait, endure it! Unfasten the belt! Right now!¡± ¡°My body is shaking. I can unfasten it well! Save me Teacher¡­ Ue.¡± ¡°Eei, hold on a sec. I¡¯ll unfasten it for you! Why did you put it on so tight!?¡± ¡°You said it¡¯d shake, so to not let it slip off¡­.¡± Teacher was fumbling around with my belt, when ¨C ¡°Suuuup! Hasta¡¯al-san, I brought ou your order of silver ore stonesss! Iya, traveling all the way up to the middle of the mountain is a pain. Won¡¯t you move down a bit closer to¡­ the¡­base?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± Teacher and the tool store man stood petrified looking at each other. Teacher¡¯s hands on my belt ¨C my face pale ¨C my body vibrating¡­ ¡°Um¡­uh¡­ am I intruding on you guys.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯M SORRY, excuse my intrusion while you were in the middle of something. Do your best, ok?¡± With dead-fish eyes, Gustar-san slammed the door shut. ¡°Wait, wait! You¡¯re wrong Gustar!¡± Gustar is the tool shop man¡¯s name. Since I¡¯ve come here, it¡¯s become difficult for Hasta¡¯al to go down to the village at the base of the mountain, so Hasta¡¯al has him come up regularly like he did now. Running out in a panic, Teacher ran after Gustal. ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t particularly¡­.¡± ¡°What you¡¯re ¡®in to¡¯¡­ I won¡¯t say anything, but¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. You¡¯re mistaken¡­¡± ¡°Even if she¡¯s your student, such a little girl¡­ Isn¡¯t it difficult without using an aphrodisiac?¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you. You¡¯ve got it all wroooong!?¡± From outside, I can hear quarreling voices and confrontational words. Also, I¡¯m almost at my limit. When Teacher finally returned, the scene before his eyes was that of me lying in a sea of my own vomit and excretion like a sinking ship. How frustrating. I lay like this¡­ twitching. Chapter 6: Trying my Hand at a Cheat Skill (Failure) Chapter 6: Trying my Hand at a Cheat Skill (Failure) ¡°Now then, Yuuri.¡± ¡°Yes, Teacher!¡± ¡°Yesterday¡­ I noticed that for you, it¡¯s kind of, impossible.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t abandon me.¡± If I¡¯m driven from here, I won¡¯t have anywhere to go. At least let me have these [Sealing Glasses]. ¡°No one said anything about abandoning you. Anyways, body training is too dangerous for Yuuri.¡± ¡°At this rate, I be considered something like a Geroine. (TL: I think it¡¯s a play on heroine, but substituting the hero with gero ¨C meaning gross or disgusting.) ¡°And so, this is what we¡¯ll do. I do think it¡¯s too soon and we¡¯re getting ahead of ourselves¡­ but considering Yuuri¡¯s gifts I¡¯ve decided it should be fine. ¡°Why are you so seemingly reluctant?¡± ¡°From today onwards, I¡¯ll have you study [Body Strengthening] magic.¡± ¡°Finally! Physical boost!¡± If you¡¯re talking fantasy, physical strengthening type magic is pretty standard, right?! ¡°This magic is my hidden teaching, so I don¡¯t really want to go round teaching it¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so stingy. Let¡¯s get at it already, Teacher.¡± ¡°Iya, it¡¯s dangerous, since you pour magic directly into the body. Adding to that, you have to do so continuously. You have to refine the magic in your body, then eject it all at once¡­ clearly very different from normal magic.¡± ¡°So hidden teaching-y! Awesome!¡± With the appearance of this standard magic, I was in high spirits. That day, I was crushed by the magic lessons that followed. The next day ¡°Listen, Yuuri. The main effect of this magic is taking from your magic power (MAG) and transferring it to your other stats.¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± ¡°The activation and maintenance of this magic is difficult, but its ability to preset stat value distribution is the key.¡± ¡°Preset?¡± ¡°At activation, you can set to what stat and how much to transfer. Since a steep increase a stat can put an excessive burden on the body, balance is important.¡± ¡°Fumu, fumu.¡± ¡°Up until now, most of the magic you¡¯ve used resolve after activation. But for this magic, you have to continuously maintain its effect. You mustn¡¯t forget that because of this, its magic consumption is rather intense.¡± ¡°Yes, Teacher!¡± ¡°Incidentally, with my mind (MND) stat, 10 seconds is my limit.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t teachers mind stat four times that of a normal person!?¡± ¡°Around that high¡­ but even with that, it¡¯s only around 10 seconds. Goes to show how ridiculous the magic consumption is for it.¡± Constructing and invoking magic is done with Magic (MAG); bringing forth that Magic is done with Mind (MND). You can think of it as Magic Power being the greatest amount of magic that can be released, and Mind as the greatest amount of magic that can be produced ¡ª something like a water storage tank and a faucet. (TL: Sounds like I may need to go back and change one of them for MP/Mana, but lets not worry about it fr now.) Despite having a Mind stat exceeding four times that of a normal person, Teacher can only maintain it for 10 seconds. Calculating from Teachers stats, 1 second consumes 4 Mind. So in my case, since I have approximately 1840¡­ 460 seconds? A whole seven minutes and 40 seconds! ¡°Really. As much as both Ultraman plus half.¡± (TL: reference to some Japanese superhero thing I don¡¯t know ¨C maybe something like power rangers with transformation time limits.) I¡¯ve got plenty of time! ¡°I¡¯m not sure what Ultraman is, but ¡­ it really is dangerous. Understand?¡± ¡°I understand. But, with a time restriction, doesn¡¯t this deviate from the original purpose of training?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because your self-protection is the top-priority goal¡­¡± Teacher looks away with a blank expression. With only seven minutes, it¡¯ll be difficult to do all the chores and housework. After letting his sight drift for a while, Teacher curtly stiffens his expression. ¡°In addition to the maintenance time restriction, this magic has one more basic flaw. ¡°Another flaw? It¡¯s just a defective product ¨C this hidden teaching.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t teach you anymore!¡± Sulking, Teacher draws a ¤Î symbol (TL: you¡¯ve probably seen this in anime. It¡¯s when a character feels dejected and squats on the floor and traces ¤Î on the floor. Usually with a gloomy face and/or saying something along the lines of ¡°no one cares what I think anyways¡± etc.) PLEASE STOP. You¡¯re a grown man for goodness sake. ¡°Alright. The truth is, you can strengthen Vitality with one other stat.¡± ¡°So, Vitality + a different stat?¡± ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t have to include your Vitality¡± ¡°In other words, by using [Body Strengthening], you can increase Dexterity, Dexterity + Vitality, Speed, Speed + Vitality, Strength, Strength + Vitality, Vitality, Mind, Mind + Vitality ¡ª increase your stats in these nine different ways, right?¡± ¡°Exactly¡± ¡°I wonder why Vitality treated differently from the other stats.¡± Hearing that, teacher made a difficult face as he searches for the right words. He¡¯s making a curious face. ¡°hmmm¡­ the basic procedure for producing magic is to start by refining magical power within the body. Then emit it outside of the body and construct a magic formation ¨C do you understand so far?¡± ¡°Yes! Through guiding magic power into a magic formation (TL: magic circle/square), you can invoke the phenomenon composed by the formation. Right?¡± ¡°With [Body Strengthening], magic that has already once been emitted behaves according to a peculiar pattern upon being reabsorbed by the body. After passing once through the inside of the body ¨C in other words vitality ¨C the magic can then be diverted to the desired stat faculty¡­ is how you can think of it. But I can¡¯t say that is how it is for certain.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty vague. So I can picture it like the route of the magic starting by first passing through Vitality and then splitting into the selected Stat, right?¡± ¡°It might just be like that¡­ Well then, even though I¡¯m a bit anxious, it should be ok since you¡¯re immortal. Anyways, why don¡¯t you give it a try?¡± Teacher backs up a few steps¡­ no, a lot of steps away from me. ¡°Teacher, why did you back away so far?¡± ¡°Using this magic for the first time usually ends in failure.¡± ¡°Is it really that dangerous of a magic?¡± ¡°I already said so, didn¡¯t I? It¡¯s a hidden technique.¡± I feel like I now finally understand why teacher¡¯s body is tempered to such an unnatural degree. This is his trump card in close quarters combat. ¡° ¡ª Well then, here I GO!¡± A crater was made in the middle of the forest. I invoked the magic. Then as result of raising my speed-oriented agility stat to the max, I surpassed the speed of sound. The activation itself was a success. There were also no problems with maintaining it. After checking that there were no problems with maintaining the magic, I decided that I should go ahead and try breaking out into a light run. The moment I kicked off the ground, the ground beneath my feet literally exploded. With that explosion and recoil from kicking the ground, I inadvertently broke through the sound barrier. I slammed into a wall faster than the speed of sound, and, not having strengthened my vitality, my body scattered in all directions. ¡°UguuuuuuuUUuuuuuUUuuuuuuuuuu¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Iya, that¡¯s the first time I have ever seen anything accelerate that fast. Amazing. Truly.¡± ¡°FuguuuuuUUuuuuuu¡± ¡°Under rapid acceleration, most people would lose their balance and fall flat on their face, only breaking a few bones but¡­¡± ¡°Higiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii¡± ¡°You really will regenerate after one hour, correct? That make me feel a bit relived.¡± Even if I regenerate and come back to life, it¡¯s not like the memory of the intense pain I experienced will go away. Teacher calmly looks over me as I writhe in the memory of the intense pain I just experienced. ¡°UnnuuuUuuu, but I won¡¯t forget your teary eyed concerned face!¡± ¡°Does it hurt here? Hm?¡± Teacher pokes the leg that first got caught in the explosion with a small stick. ¡°GinyaaaaAaaaaaa!!!¡± Internally I reached a decision: I will definitely learn this magic. Also, my [Sealing Glasses] broke, so I now have [Sealing Glasses Mk2]. The next day In front of me is a large boulder ¨C a steep cliff. It¡¯s the perfect location for training. Like breaking apart a boulder barehanded, It¡¯s a man¡¯s dream. ¡°Fuf Fuf Fuu. I¡¯ll split this boulder and surpass Teacher.¡± Yesterday, I may have failed, but it¡¯s painfully clear that the reason was my high Magic stat. Let¡¯s decrease the amount allocated in muscle strengthening by 70%, and the remainder I¡¯ll redistribute to Vitality. ¡°Break into pieces! For the sake of my ambition!¡± It broke into piece¡­ my hand, that is. ¡°NuaaaAaaaaaaaaaa! ¡°You¡­. No matter how you look at it, that was just unreasonable.¡± ¡°Ginueeeeeee¡± ¡°Suddenly hearing a ¡®bang¡¯ I came here running, and look what I find¡­¡± ¡°hagyaaaaAaaaa¡± ¡°Seeing your right arm fly off from your shoulder, of course I was surprised.¡± Teacher looked down on me with eyes that almost say ¡®I¡¯ve completely given up on you.¡¯ It gave me a bit of a chill. And the next day. I haven¡¯t given up¡­ since I¡¯m immortal. ¡°Barehanded was no good. But if I use a weapon, my hand won¡¯t break!¡± Today I came with a weapon. Not with a wooden sword, but with a real sword strapped across my back. It¡¯s heavy. ¡°Check it out, check it out! With [Body Strengthening], even this heavy sword feels lighter than paper.¡± I say that, but I can¡¯t maintain this technique for more than seven minutes. Let¡¯s try a quick slash technique. With my right hand, I hold the sword with an underhand grip and face my left hand forwards. Then I twist my body¡­ If were talking fantasy, It¡¯s got to be this move. ¡°There no reason I should lose to a boulder! Take this! Avan Strash!¡± A fast sword strike ¡ª Clad with a shock wave, the sword easily breaks the boulder! Passing through the boulder, the shock wave cuts the cliff¡­ and even the slices part of the mountain. No able to withstand the impact, the sword broke pelting me with shattered fragments and blinding me. ¡°I¡¯m begging you. Please don¡¯t do anything crazy.¡± ¡°Ugugugu¡­¡± Teacher is making a troubled face while imploring me. I feel like I¡¯ve reached a new low in his mind. ¡°Even if you¡¯re immortal, dying all bloodied is bad for my heart.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°I?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not finished yet! Absolutely not finished yet! I¡¯ve still got another hand to play!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to tie you up tomorrow, you know?¡± Additionally, I¡¯ve already move on to [Sealing Glasseses Mk3] So that it won¡¯t break, it has a really sturdy black frame. It¡¯s extremely unfashionable. I can feel them lowering my Pretty Girl power (TL: Bishoujo-ness)falling when I wear them, but it can¡¯t be helped. And the next day As expected, Teacher grounded me and I¡¯m not allowed to go outside. That¡¯s why I¡¯m practicing metal carving in my room. ¡°Hm? Since I can also strengthen dexterity, shouldn¡¯t I be able to use it to carve more complex and detailed magic formations?¡± Immediately after coming up with the idea, I decided to try it out. I take out an amulet in preparation. On its surface, I¡¯ll try carving a tiny magic formation. The model for this will be the [Sealing Glasses] Teacher made. The carved formation on the tool is already closely compact. This is pretty amazing. ¡°I won¡¯t suddenly learn the Magic Formation ability, but in exchange, I¡¯ll develop my own method ¡ª !!¡± For godly precision, physical strength is needed also¡­ Before I realized it, the capillaries in my arm were swelling and rupturing with a *pa pa pa*. ¡°At the very least, I must praise your tenacity. But why do you always invest the maximum amount of magic possible¡­?¡± ¡°Unuuuuuu¡± Unable to move my arm, I was made to sit by side of my bed and eat porridge as Teacher continued scolding me. ¡°There¡¯s no need to use it all. With your amount of magic, Yuuri, just a small portion will allow for strong enough result.¡± ¡°But the magic consumption won¡¯t decrease, and so nor will the tie limit increase.¡± ¡°Would it not be fine to use the remaining magic power for other magic?¡± ¡°¡ª¨C! That¡¯s it!¡± ¡°Just go to sleep already. Don¡¯t do anything else that¡¯s uncalled for today.¡± ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped. Teacher. Seconds Please!¡± (TL: Okawari Kudasai) I may have failed at magic, but I feel some strange sense of fulfillment. I deem today¡¯s efforts acceptable! Chapter 7: My First Battle Chapter 7: My First Battle Ladies and Gentlemen, It is now the middle of fall. How are things you ask? In this world, things gotten really, very very cold. On that note, nowadays, It seems like a rumor of me being a sex slave has become the talk of the town in the village at the base of the mountain. I think I¡¯ll have to poison Gustar-san next time. For the first time in a while, I¡¯ve returned to the path of magic and am going out to collect magical herbs. reaching my destination safely, ¡°Now then, so this is the middle of the forest. It¡¯s so refreshing and nice.¡± I breathed those words out to myself in a heart-felt loud voice. ¡°There might be some treasure in this unexplored terrain¡­ is what I¡¯m saying when I find the ingredient for making painkillers!¡± Though it¡¯s currently midday, it¡¯s dark in the gloomy forest. I tear out the medical herbs one by one. ¡°But Teacher is really unforgiving, isn¡¯t he. It should be normal for a girl to pick flowers. But recently, I feel like I¡¯ve only been gathering practical things.¡± My voice becomes increasingly louder. It¡¯s uncontainable. It¡¯s frightening. The noisy tree grove¡­ ¡°Hiih !?¡± A sudden gust of wind blows through, rustling the grass while making a creepy noise. ¡°Don¡¯t frighten me! Shit! If you¡¯re going to make a noise, make a more refreshing sound.¡± I won¡¯t survive without acting like a coward, you know. ¡°Instead of a zawazawa can¡¯t you do more of a sawasawa or soyosoyo sound? I¡¯m quite timid you know? ¡°Shagyaa¡± ¡°Yeah. That one works too¡­¡­ huh?¡± ¡°Gururururururur¡­¡­.¡± From out of the shade of the forest appears a bipedal lizard-like creature. I¡¯ve seen it before¡­ back when I was alive in the Jurassic Park movie. The ¡®Raptor¡¯-looking thing silently advances. If I remember correctly, it¡¯s called a Keratos ¡°Hye¡­¡± As I take a step back, it has already finished lowering its head in an attacking stance. It¡¯s ready to attack. This is baaaad! ¡°Ha Ha. With [Immortality], I wonder where I¡¯d revive if I were eaten whole¡­¡± Despite trying to calm myself by laughing it off, my voice is trembling. As long as my corpse doesn¡¯t end up somewhere else, I¡¯d revive inside its stomach. To die and come back to life ¡ª I don¡¯t want to have to experience that ever again¡­ Strength leaves my shaking legs, and I sink to the floor. ¡°¡­Ah, Aah¡± My glasses fog from the tears welling up in my eyes ¨C my glasses? ¡° ¡ª- that¡¯s it!¡± What did I learn from Teacher over these past three years? I came to realize that the incident in Lilith town happen because of my own lack of strength. With the resolve to never allow that sort of thing to happen ever again, didn¡¯t I come here to learn magic? ¡°I have to stand ¡ª- I should already be able to fight!¡± I muster my coward¡¯s courage, suppress the shaking in my knees with my hands, and force myself to stand up. Though my voice is shaking, I am able to manipulate my magic. I activate my prohibited [Body Strengthening] magic ¨C or ¡°Accel Boost¡± as I¡¯ve come to call it. I divide the strengthening between vitality and agility 20% and 10% respectively. Any higher distribution than this into agility, and that ground wouldn¡¯t likely be able to withstand it and would give out. ¡°Guruaaaaaaaahhhhh!¡± In the instance I begin activating the magic formation, the lizard thing comes rushing. Having reflected on what happened last time, I will support myself with both feet and my one hand. Distributing the load to three points, the danger of gouging out the ground when kicking off is small. . . I think. Compared to when strengthening agility, movement when strengthening speed feel much slower. Perceiving my foe¡¯s fangs closing in in slow motion, I kick off. With a piercing crack sound, I distanced myself from the Keratops, moving my body around 10m in the blink of an eye. Looking around restlessly having lost sight of its prey, the Keratops closes its mouth. It doesn¡¯t know where I am. ¡°A, re? I ¡­ might be able to beat it.¡± With this overwhelming speed, I could even toy with this guy. Having finally successfully used [Body Strengthening], I couldn¡¯t keep myself from getting excited. ¡°I (watashi) ¡­ I (ore) ¡­ ? Can beat ¡­ that dinosaur-like thing?¡± The male mannerisms that had be sealed away continuously for three tears came to the surface. My lips stretch into a grin as feelings of joy begin welling up inside me. ¡°Then, from now on ¡ª- it¡¯s hunting time!¡± It almost feels like I¡¯m in a monster hunting game. The Keratops, having discovered my location, turned to face me. Getting onto all fours like an animal, I close in on the Keratos. One step right diagonally forwards. Then one step left diagonally forwards. With just two steps, I got behind it. Falling into panic having lost sight of me for a second time, the Keratops wildly swings its tail about. ¡°tto, that was close!¡± While the Keratos randomly swings its tail, I duck as it almost grazes me. Perhaps sensing my presence there, it looks back. Using the recoil from ducking, I jump. With only 10% invested in speed ¡­ I guess this is the limit. Reaching the eye line of the 5m tall Keratos, it shows its surprise again. I rocketed up 7, no 10m into the air, above the Keratos. Now that I think about it, I also flew about 10m horizontally with that first jump. (TL: when he/she jumped away from the Keratos at the start of the fight) having reached the top of my jump, I started falling towards the backwards-facing Keratos. Pachin! I release the built up magic. Having released the unusable magic from the previous body strengthening, I gather the remaining magic and formulate the next magic in the span of just one second. Recalling Teacher¡¯s words, I put into use [Body Strengthening] serial activation. It¡¯s the tactic of manipulating the magic a second time to use body strengthening to match the situation. I rapidly switch the active strengthening from supplementing speed to supplementing strength and simultaneously begin to activate magic to strengthen my agility. The Keratos looks skyward towards the sound of the magic formation activating. ¡ª- But it¡¯s already too late! Pouring a large quantity of magic into strengthening my fingertip, I but my full weight behind it and stab it towards the Keratos¡¯s forehead. It pierces the Keratos¡¯s skull and mangles it brain. ¡°Haaaaaahaaa . . . . . Fuwaaa¡± It just lasted a few seconds. The so-called fight, was an unsatisfactory, one-sided beat down. With the excitement dying out, I feel fatigued to a degree that I have never ever experienced before. ¡°I¡¯ve heard it said that ¡®the strain from one real fight rivals that of one week of training¡¯. I guess it really is true. . . . . . Hiiih¡± Letting out a big breath, I calm my rough breathing. Since I¡¯m resting, I use the time to look at the finger I used to pierce the Keratos¡¯s brain. ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s because of the large vitality, but nothing but my nail was destroyed from the attack. Also, it really saved my butt that the preliminary construction for the serial activation body strengthening worked out well.¡± Because of having a monstrous amount of magic, [Body Strengthening] preliminary construction is used. I make close my hand into a fist. I feel no pain. Despite having been suddenly thrown into a fight, it looks like there are no problems. ¡°I didn¡¯t even jam my finger. It¡¯s like I¡¯m a ninja from a western RPG. Ehehehe.¡± Unaffected by the gruesome scene around me, I smile with a sense of accomplishment. At which time ¡ª I hear rustling from the grass followed the sound of heavy footsteps. The footsteps are heavy and deep enough to gouge the soil through the thick, overgrown grass. No matter how I look at it, it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s teacher coming to check up on things. Looking in the direction of the sounds of the footsteps, it¡¯s just as I thought. A Keratos is coming this way. . . . . . a fuckin¡¯ second one. ¡°There was another one . . . . r-really!?¡± I get up immediately into a fighting stance, but upon standing, I feel dizzy. I take a knee while laughing to myself. My vision becomes narrow. . . . ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding. I¡¯m feeling lightheaded at a time like this!?¡± This isn¡¯t even funny. But it¡¯s reality. I can¡¯t stand up right, and fall back onto my buttocks. ¡°Ah, D¡­ Don¡¯t gum this whale!¡± My vision narrows. My throat constricts. I can¡¯t speak right. This is obviously an abnormal condition. Isn¡¯t [Situational Adaptability] supposed to take care of this type of thing? Maybe it¡¯s because its comrade was killed, but the Keratos approaches cautiously. It approaches sniffing the air. It¡¯s close enough that I can feel its breathing on me, but I can¡¯t see it. Keeping my hands from shaking, they barely even twitch. Finally thinking of strengthening vitality, I attempt to manipulate the mana in my body, but I become shocked. ¡ª- I can¡¯t manipulate it!? No, this is . . . I¡¯ve completely run out? Oh, That¡¯s right. I used 30% of it for strengthening twice, and I also used the preliminary construction technique once. Could that be why my magic is used up? Up until now, I had never run out of magic from simple magic. And every time I used [Body Strengthening] magic, I¡¯d lost consciousness from physical injuries. I had never noticed it! So this is mana depletion!? Saliva runs down my cheek. Rank-smelling breath blows against my face. It looks like I ended up lying on the ground at some point. Now there¡¯s no way I can get up. This is . . . . it seems this is the very expensive tuition fee for what I learned to today. At that moment ¡ª- Right before I lost consciousness, I heard a sharp slicing sound. Chapter 8: Scolding and a Whole Bunch of Food Chapter 8: Scolding and a Whole Bunch of Food ¡°Are . . . . . I¡¯m alive?¡± Coming to, I find myself on top of the bed in my room. Teacher is sitting next to me with a gloomy expression on his face. The crease between his eyebrows is deeper than usual. (TL: like an ¡®grave¡¯ expression or something like that) ¡°Ah, Teachers. Good morning.¡± ¡°Aah, Good Morning. How is your body?¡± His voice sounds like he¡¯s in a pretty bad mood. I¡¯m a bit nervous. ¡°Um? There¡¯s nothing wrong with my ¡®immortal¡¯ body¡± ¡°If there¡¯s nothing wrong, then that¡¯s fine. Now then, time for you scolding.¡± Eh!? WHY? ¡°Why didn¡¯t you run away?¡± Teacher asks this in a deeper, heavier voice. It¡¯s a bit scary. Seriously? ¡°Eh, because I thought I¡¯d be able to fight it . . . . ¡° ¡°Do you not realize how fragile your body is? Since it was too dangerous to learn martial arts and [Body Strengthening], you have run away.¡± This may be the first time Teacher has yelled at me since coming here. Seeing me slightly-frightened, Teacher stops admonishing me in a low-toned voice. ¡°Yuuri, your body breaks at even the slightest touch. . . It¡¯s truly as fragile as glass. You shouldn¡¯t be thinking of getting into a fights intentionally.¡± ¡°B-but as long as I have Accel Boost, I mean [Body Strengthening]. . . . .¡± ¡°I developed that technique to compensate when fighting at distances I¡¯m not particularly good with. It¡¯s not all that well suited for you with your all-around low basic abilities.¡± In battle, both techniques and experience are of course important, but having several areas of high ability (stats) is also needed. The strength to wield a weapon, the speed to make defensive movements, the dexterity to land hits. . . . . Certainly. Since Teacher already has high basic stats, further strengthening his abilities should be able to make him good at close-quarters fighting. But with basic stats all at 1, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do the same. For that reason, I came up with the plan to use speed, but. . . ¡°B-But. . . . I come back to life. Even if it¡¯s dangerous, I . . . ¡° ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you should expose yourself to unnecessary danger. Not only that, but in a magic depleted state, can you truly say for sure that you¡¯ll come back to life?¡± Oh yeah. That was the first time I had run out of magic. ¡°Magic depletion . . . . . that was magic depletion? That was the first time I experienced it¡± ¡°I told you that body strengthening was a double edged sword. Even if you call is one of God¡¯s Miracles, it¡¯s not something that can be activated freely, you know!¡± ¡°Are you talking about Gifts?¡± ¡°Gifts activate by taking in its possessor¡¯s magic. However, this only applies to some gifts, and these gifts really only use up a minimal amount of magic . . . small enough that even a regular person would be able to provide enough mana for it.¡± This is the first time I¡¯ve ever heard anything about this. This is pretty frickin¡¯ important isn¡¯t this!? ¡°I don¡¯t know is your gift is the type that consumes magic or not, but testing it to find out is too risky, don¡¯t you think.¡± ¡°Of course! If it ends up being the magic consuming type, I¡¯ll stay dead!¡± ¡°Ever since taking you back with me, I felt that your magic was limitless. So I never thought you¡¯d be able to run out of magic, but that shouldn¡¯t be the case for anyone.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not normally an amount that should be possible to exhaust completely . . .¡± Since it¡¯s over 150 times the norm. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about the connection between ¡®immortality¡¯ and mana depletion. And for that, I must apologize. I am truly sorry.¡± Teacher bows deeply, lowering his head to me. Seeing his bowing figure, I realized something. . . . I had made the same mistake again. Having received cheat powers from God, without considering the possible drawbacks from the powers I obtained, I though lightly of danger. . . . just like that time. (TL: referring to Lilith Town) I was just like a kid with a new toy with this new power. That¡¯s why ¡ª the one who¡¯s in the wrong is me. ¡°Please raise you head. It¡¯s not Teacher¡¯s fault! I was the one fought unreasonably. . . . n, are?¡± Somehow, something in the conversation doesn¡¯t make sense. ¡°Are? Teacher, you did think of the possibility that I wouldn¡¯t be able to revive. In order to run away from danger, didn¡¯t you teach me martial arts? Yet, you say you didn¡¯t consider the possibility of not being able to revive from magic depletion? There¡¯s something weird about that line of thought.¡± ¡°. . . . Yuuri, you¡¯re like a grandchild to me. Is it wrong to be worried about you?¡± Otto. The heart of the matter is a bit unexpected. Your face is getting a bit red you know? ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m cute, right? You know, it¡¯s alright to adore me more.¡± ¡°. . . . . Now then, you should be hungry. I¡¯ll make some food ¨C¡° As if the trying to deceive me, Teacher ignores my teasing and says this in a monotone voice. How rude! The rice gruel and stir-fry he brings me are very tasty. First, the rice gruel. It¡¯s simple with the taste of being lightly seasoned with salt. The rich aroma wafts up to my nose. . . . I wonder what type of dashi (Japanese Soup Stock) was used? As a former Japanese person, food is really important to me. As I thought, what was really nagging at me since coming here was the absence dashi. It seems like even in the West, no one used dashi until rather recently. Perhaps it¡¯s some sort of soup mixed into the rice. It has a very rich flavor. There are also small cut-up vegetables and lots of piece of chicken-like meat. As for the stir-fry, instead of vegetables, there is a whole bunch of crispy meat mixed in. it¡¯s probably some sort of innards. I know that liver has a dislikable poignant smell, but this doesn¡¯t smell much, so it might be very fresh. Actually, I quite like it from because of its unique texture. Additionally, some fish egg-like things are also mixed in. The lumpy texture makes it the highlight of the dish. This one is also delicious. ¡°Teacher, this rice gruel is delicious! It¡¯s even tastier than usual.¡± ¡°Right? I used some really good ingredients.¡± ¡°Did Gustar-san come again? He just came by the other day¡­ how strange.¡± ¡°Gustar? He didn¡¯t stop by.¡± ¡°Eh, then these ingredients are. . . . ¡° ¡°Keratos¡± Kashan ¡ª- I unintentionally drop my spoon from the surprising information. My mind freezes, and several minutes pass until my brain restarts. ¡°If you don¡¯t eat quickly, your food will get cold.¡± ¡°This, this is the one I defeated. . . . ¡± ¡°There were two. I defeated one, you know.¡± ¡°I see! So this meat if from that lizard? . . . . Then this stir-fry, too?¡± ¡°Keratos innards. Since its delicious fresh, this is a feast you can¡¯t get just anywhere.¡± Maa, I was almost eaten also, wasn¡¯t I? Eat or be eaten is the way of the wild. Yup. In Japan, I ate whale, sea cucumber, and even puffer fish ovaries. There isn¡¯t a single Japanese person that can¡¯t eat repulsive-looking marine food products. At this point, a Keratos or two is no big deal . . . . . ¡°For the soup, I simmered together pureed brain tissue. Quite a rich taste.¡± ¡°Gobuh!?¡± For the Japanese people, known for eating repulsive things, even eating brain tissue is a somewhat common thing. . . . . . There¡¯s no way that true! (TL: he did a tsukomi on himself. If you¡¯re familiar with tsukomis, then you probably understand, otherwise he¡¯s just saying something like ¡®yeah we eat that, too. Just kidding! Lol. There¡¯s no way that¡¯s true!¡¯) ¡°Though I¡¯m the one who gouged out its brain . . . . . rest in peace Keratos.¡± ¡°The rest of the meat I put in ice with [Freezing], and tomorrow we¡¯ll smoke it. Having preserved food is important.¡± ¡°Teacher, could it be that this is a battle field?¡± ¡°What the hell are you saying, Yuuri?¡± Since I¡¯m a light eater, the amount of food I require isn¡¯t too much, but I¡¯m a bit greedy. Well, there were two ¡ª each 5m tall. If we keep them frozen with Teacher¡¯s magic, we shouldn¡¯t be needing more food for a while. ¡°And these lumps in the stir-fry? What are they, fish eggs?¡± ¡°Uugi eggs.¡± ¡°. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¡± UUgi is a type of winged insect similar to a fly. They lay their eggs in the hollows of trees, so their eggs are actually relatively easy to acquire. During times of famine, they becomes a valuable source of protein. ¡°Teacher, you lived a long time on the battle field, didn¡¯t you.¡± ¡°A long time ago, yeah. Why?¡± While eating the delicious meal, I swore in my heart that I¡¯d be the only one to do the cooking from now on. Chapter 9: My Master and Working from Home Chapter 9: My Master and Working from Home Now, since I got a cheat skill, my life changed ¡­ in no significant ways. I mean, it¡¯s only 7 minutes. For example¡ª When going to fetch water; I put a huge amount of water in a tub, and while bringing it back my time limit ended and I got crushed. Working in the field out back; I was swinging the hoe around, and the moment the effect wore off, it flew out of my hand, into master¡¯s room and hit my sleeping Master. While on the roof to repair the ceiling, my time ran out and I couldn¡¯t get back down, so master had to help me. Using a grinder to craft a ring, I dug my nose in, my magic power ran out, I fell forward and scraped my forehead. So, well, due to the heavy consumption and short effect time, there was no practicality to it. In short¡­ I¡¯m still a weakling. ~*~ Switching gears, today let¡¯s talk about my Master. His full name is Haster Albine. I think he¡¯s somewhere in his mid-fifties? I don¡¯t know his exact age. Black, his hair is the very definition of raven black hair, which he wears all back. And he has a beard around his mouth. I only see this sometimes after he bathes, but when he lets his hair down he looks pretty young. He looks frighteningly like a 20 year old. What kind of monster is he? He¡¯s tall, with a perfect body, but his physique gives off a gentle and dignified impression. However, I know that¡­ his beard is actually fake! He¡¯s trying his best to seem dignified by growing a beard, but instead of growing it out as you think, he¡¯s deceiving you with that fake beard! If he takes away his fake beard and lets down his hair, isn¡¯t he in his twenties? This guy¡­ Master¡¯s abilities also show excellence. He has high physical abilities, magical talent, and talent in creating magic tools. Having a lot of abilities that a country would kill for, in a way he¡¯s more of a cheat Sage than me. Especially, the ¡°Ring of Mental Resistance¡± is a best seller. Master creates them specially and makes a stupidly huge profit on them. In this world there are things like demons, vampires, and dragons. They release ¡°fascination¡±, and make you shudder with a ¡°roar¡± etc. And it seems there are many adventurers who are defeated by these attacks on their spirits. These rings that have a high probability of canceling those effects are said to be essential if you are skilled. If this item is equipped, then it¡¯s seen as proof of that person¡¯s abilities. The ring is only sold at the foothill village and isn¡¯t sold wholesale. It has become a specialty good that is most clearly supporting the village¡¯s economy. Adventurers from all over the world visit the village. Moreover, since the ring breaks after receiving above a certain amount of power, demand for the item doesn¡¯t go down. ¡°So basically, the supply has no way of keeping up with the demand.¡± Says me, while I make silver rings at the soft grinder. Are spells for making the rings a bad idea or something for some reason? Behind me on the work bench, Master is carving [Resistance] type magic into the rings, and injecting magic power into them. ¡°We need to have 10 rings ready to sell at Gusta¡¯s place tomorrow, so give it your all in making them.¡± ¡°This is one of those things that piles up every day, isn¡¯t it? Master, were you the type that put your summer break homework off until the last day?¡± ¡°What¡¯s a summer break? Well, but I do tend to postpone annoying jobs until later.¡± Scrape, scrape is heard as I grind the silver and process it into rings. Of course, I¡¯m not using reinforcement right now, so the ring is a little awkwardly formed. But the finer processing and [Resistance] application through [Enchantment] are things that my Master does, so I don¡¯t mind doing this much. ¡°Master, I have finished 3 of them.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure there aren¡¯t any giants with 5cm thick fingers among my customers, right? ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Might there be some unexpected demand for it?¡± ¡°No.¡± Well, I have to redo one out of two. Also, lately Master has been careless. ¡°Even so, Master, you can also make a ring in one hour, then turn it in for 100 gold coins, huh.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the cost of life. Moreover, this is actually pretty tough. With my magic power I can only make about 10 in a day. Besides, only a little bit of that actually gets to my wallet¡± The rings are handled for us by Mr. Gusta in his shop. The wholesale price is 50 gold coins. Aren¡¯t you being ripped off, Master? ¡°Well, Gusta takes care of lots of things, including the delivery. I don¡¯t mind letting him make a little extra money.¡± ¡°Master¡¯s sense of economics is broken after all, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Rather than gold, what I want right now is labor. So hurry up and make the next ring.¡± Shall I explain the money in this world too? In this world there are three general types of coins in circulation; copper, silver, and gold. With 100 of any type of coin, it goes to the next value. Further above that is platinum coins, and bank notes issued by each country, but I have never seen those. In a common person¡¯s daily life, their wallets get quite heavy, so these monetary units are pretty rough. I guess 1 copper coin would be equivelant to 1 yen? Over here the value is too low, so I have not seen any in circulation. By the way, my jaw dropped when I saw that Master has about 50,000 gold coins rolling around in his basement warehouse. ¡°If you master [Enchantment] soon, Yuuri, then I¡¯ll be able to take it easy.¡± ¡°Will you be the one shaving the rings down, Master?¡± ¡°Will we really have to work together after all¡­? Nah, with Yuuri¡¯s magic power [Enchantment] would hardly put any strain on you right? ¡°Well then, let¡¯s carve the magic circle!¡± ¡°Stop?!¡± I¡¯m clumsy, so I¡¯m bad at carving the magic circle in. Constructing with magic power is something I¡¯m so good at that Master is also amazed by it, but¡­ It¡¯s probably thanks to ¡°Peerless Magic¡±. ¡°Hmm~, but since since I have the magic power, if Master carves the magic circle, and I do the [Enchantment], wouldn¡¯t our efficiency go up? ¡°¡­ ¡­ That¡¯s it!¡± I¡¯ve been thinking this since the other day, but Master may be a surprisingly carelessperson. For that reason, I learned about [Enchantment]. ~*~ ¡°First of all, for spells, you mold magic power inside your body. At the same time you think about what kind of effect you want it to have, and give it direction. Release that into the air¡­¡± ¡°With the released magic power, form the magic circle¡­ that¡¯s when I chant to induce the image, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Right, basically if you have a clear image, then the chant is actually unnecessary.¡± ¡°And then, the phenomenon will occur in the constructed circle. This is what spells are.¡± First, we reviewed the basic concept of spells. I can already use spells to a certain degree, so this is easy enough. ¡°If the magic circle is carved into an item, the user of the item doesn¡¯t need to be the one who made the magic circle.¡± ¡°As a substitute for constructing a magic circle, and while omitting the chant, you can invoke a fast and persistent effect. That¡¯s the strength of a [Magic Tool].¡± ¡°Hmm, however, tools can¡¯t mold magic power. Magic power can¡¯t be fixed in place, so wouldn¡¯t it diffuse soon enough? ¡°That¡¯s where the [Maintenance] operation is incorporated. For example, if you want a replacement for a light at night you would probably make something like a [Ball of Light] right? It would be a problem if that were to suddenly disappear, so it actually has [Maintenance] incorporated.¡± ¡°[Body Reinforcement] also uses [Maintenance] then. So it was something I was already familiar with¡­?¡± ¡°As long as the spell user remembers the magic circle, it¡¯s probably not a big deal though.¡± Even though it¡¯s likely nobody knows about it, I guess there are some things that aren¡¯t a big deal. Is this one of those Columbus¡¯ egg1 ideas? ¡°Basically you incorporate [Maintenance] into the magic tool, and the magic power is retained?¡± ¡°Right, and since there¡¯s only so much magic power from outside that was maintained, when that magic power expires, it¡¯ll break. That¡¯s the problem with magic tools. But they¡¯re easy to handle.¡± Is it that magic tools are easy to use that makes them worth 100,000 yen? I guess it takes a lot of money to be an adventurer. ¡°Is there no way to refill the magic power on a finished product?¡± ¡°Finished products are called that precisely because the particular product is finished¡­ But, hmm¡­ If it¡¯s purposely left unfinished, and room was left to fill, then?¡± I¡¯ve put doubts into Master¡¯s head. Did he have the idea in his head that what he sells has to be a finished product? ¡°That will need more research. It was an interesting suggestion.¡± pet, pet¡­ Using a feather broom lifted with [Telekinesis], Master pets my head. Isn¡¯t that thing dirty? ¡°please stop. Aren¡¯t you getting me dirty?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you can¡¯t handle being touched directly. I want to show my appreciation through skinship, so accept this as a compromise.¡± After that, I learned the [Enchantment] magic circle from Master, and tried doing the [Enchantment] in his place. I poured too much magic power into two of them and split them apart, but they were safely completed. My Master is crafting the rings, and carving the circles, and I do the [Enchantment]. With that combination, in half the normal time, about 4 hours, we finished 10 of the rings. ¡°Master, there¡¯s enough magic power to fill about two times this amount?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been endowed with a stupid amount of magic power. Since this is the limit of the magic circle¡¯s strength, maybe I could find ways to improve it?¡± ¡°If an ¡®Improved Version¡¯ is completed, will you raise the price? Or since the labor required has decreased, will you lower it?¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be fair to sell something with a higher performance at the same price after all. I would feel bad for all my customers up to now, so in reference to the ¡®Normal Version¡¯, we¡¯ll sell the ¡®Improved Version¡¯ for about 20% more.¡± Like that, ¡°Ring of Mental Resistance (Improved Version)¡± is being sold to Mr. Gusta wholesale for 60 gold coins, and he sells them for 120 gold coins. ¡­ Huh? Isn¡¯t there something strange going on with that profit? Chapter 10: Emotional Scars Chapter 10: Emotional Scars Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Since we talked about Master¡¯s appearance last time, this time we¡¯ll talk about my own appearance. As is apparent from my status, I have crimson eyes and silver hair. I¡¯m shorter than you would expect for someone my age (10 years old), and my limbs are thin. I have a pretty flat chest, and my belly is a bit pudgy. My skin is white as snow. Right now I¡¯m sealing the attraction aspect of ¡°Golden Ratio,¡± but when it¡¯s in effect I can boast that I have the lovely appearance of an angel. My black-framed glasses get in the way, but I can¡¯t take them off. My hair length is about to the middle of my back, and when I wake up I put in into a three-sectioned braid. If I make it too tight, then it feels like my hair is being pulled and it hurts. My eyes are a deep red, with clarity like a ruby, and a depth that can swallow you. My clothing is mainly maid-like outfits. The thing is, my Master goes out of his way to buy clothes for me, since I can¡¯t go to the village myself, so I gratefully accept them, but¡­ Now I¡¯ve gotten completely accustomed to skirts¡­ accustomed to¡­ Waaaaaaaah! (Crying) In addition, for some reason my Master only buys me short dresses, frilly one-piece dresses, cosplay-like robes, and similar styled outfits. Other than hot pants to sleep in, and spats for training I have nothing pants-like at all. In the summer when I walked around in just a tank top and hot pants, a fist came down on me. ~~~*~ Well now, since then the seasons have come and gone¡­ and it¡¯s winter! We don¡¯t get much rain in this area, but we do get plenty of snow. And it¡¯s already piled up¡­ and piled up. ¡°And so today I¡¯ll be shoveling snow!¡± The entrance was already drowning in a deep sea (of snow). ¡°Over here is already drowning too¡­¡± ¡°Where is ¡°Over here¡±?¡± ¡°Where you just stuck your head out from, Master.¡± Right now the only way in or out of the cottage is a round window in my room in the attic. According to my Master, ¡°If we¡¯re talking about a child¡¯s room, then it would be a room in the attic, right?¡± is the reason for that decision. My Master¡¯s head stuck out that round window in the attic. It looked like a coo-coo clock, so it was kinda cute. ¡°I¡¯m sure with my frail body my honored viewers are wondering ¡°Can you manage shoveling snow?¡± and other such doubts.¡± ¡°And who would those viewers be?¡± ¡°You, Master.¡± I point squarely at my Master who is observing from the window. ¡°If you are going to observe, then could you please help out?¡± ¡°These types of jobs are naturally the work of the apprentice. I feel that you¡¯ve been slacking off too much with a lot of your work, Yuuri.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I have a weak body, and I can¡¯t help it.¡± I pout and avert my eyes. People are suitable and unsuitable for different things you know? ¡°Also, I can¡¯t possibly get out from this window.¡± ¡°Have you gotten fat, Master?¡± ¡°If so, then I should start dieting today. I¡¯ll have my apprentice Yuuri join me in doing so.¡± ¡°You are thin Master. You are just fine, no problems, none.¡± If even my meals are decreased, wouldn¡¯t I get even more frail than I already am?! ¡°Now then, a long deceased magician once said, ¡°As a magician, what you can¡¯t do normally you should do with magic.¡±¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that just the other day? Could you not go killing me off?!¡± ¡°And now I reveal, Snowman #1! I¡¯ll use my [Telekinesis] to control it from afar!¡± ¡°Ooooh! You¡¯ve thought of something insidious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not insidious. It¡¯s a natural evolution of advanced magic application.¡± You¡¯re being awfully rude, Master! The snowman, with the sounds of scooping snow, is doing a good job of shoveling the snow off the roof. It seems it¡¯s a success after all. The strength of [Telekinesis] magic techniques corresponds to magic power, so my [Telekinesis] displays an unbelievable amount of herculean strength. ¡°FUHAHAHAHA, it¡¯s come! Finally my time has come! HAHAHAHA, FUUUHAHAHAHA!¡± ¨CSplat- ¡°Kyuuu¡± ~~~*~ ¡°I¡¯ve heard of plenty of people slipping, and falling off their roof while shoveling snow, but¡­¡± ¡°chatter, chatter, chatter¡­¡± ¡°I think this is the first time I¡¯ve heard of someone burying themselves in snow they were shoveling¡± ¡°shiver, shiver, shiver¡­¡± ¡°First of all, could you drink this?¡± While I¡¯m wrapped up and shivering in a blanket, Master hands me a cup of hot milk with honey. Aaah, it¡¯s warming me up from the inside. ¡°I¡¯m getting so warm on the inside¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we forbid talking in such a disturbing way.¡± After what happened, my Master saved me with his [Telekinesis], then he moved the snow at the entrance and shoveled the snow on the roof. ¡°However, if it¡¯s this bad over here, then I¡¯m a little worried about Mareba village, you know¡­?¡± Mareba village is the pioneering village at the base of the mountain. They have 12 households of 3 or less. Mr. Gusta¡¯s magic tool store is also in that village. It¡¯s a small village, but since my Master¡¯s best selling magic tools are sold there, they get a lot of foot traffic and the economy is surprisingly good. ¡°If it¡¯s only to the degree of a barn breaking it would be fine and all¡± ¡°Shall we go and check out the situation over there?¡± ¨Cpikuri ¡°Yuuri, you could come¡­¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll stay and watch the house.¡± I responded before my Master finished speaking. Since it¡¯s a village, there will probably be a lot of people there. I, who is on the path of a shut-in, could not possibly deal with meeting that many people so suddenly. ¡°¡­ I see.¡± It looked like my Master wanted to say something else, but without another word he began preparing to head out. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll go check on the village, so I leave the house to you. I¡¯ll probably be back in the evening.¡± ¡°Yes sir, take care.¡± ¡°While you¡¯re here, continue shoveling the snow.¡± ¡°Roger that. Well then-!¡± My Master, who holds the title of ¡°Wind¡±, can use a spell to fly through the air. The cheating bastard! The person himself said, ¡°Compact the air to make a foothold, then after kicking off and jumping from that, collect the air currents and updrafts to accelerate. Rather than flying, it would be more accurate to call it running through the air.¡± By the way, I tried to do that, but adjusting the air power was too difficult. After suddenly jumping 10,000 meters up, I immediately contracted altitude sickness. Due to the air pressure difference, blood blew out my nose and ears, and I fainted. In the middle of falling back down, my Master caught me, and I apparently avoided death, but¡­ When I came to, my Master held me in a princess carry, and we were in the middle of heading back to the cottage. It became something like a scene of a beautiful girl held by a knight, but I was sticky with blood running out my nose and ears. Could you please read the atmosphere and wipe the blood off for me?! ~~~*~ Now then, since I was asked to take care of shoveling the snow, let¡¯s get right back into it. This time I¡¯ll avoid getting buried by climbing onto the roof, and use [Telekinesis] on the snowman to shovel the snow. Shovel¡­ Shovel¡­ It comes down again¡­ And piles up¡­ ¡°There¡¯s no end to this! I¡¯m getting tired of this, so it¡¯s time for food!¡± The snow would intermittently climb right back up, so now matter how long I stand out there, it would never end. I went back inside, and while having lunch, I considered what to do next about it. ¡°Geez, I need a more fundamental solution for this.¡± I had bread with cheese and ham (from the keratos), along with some milk. Keratos meat is good without getting used to it. There¡¯s no bad smell, and it¡¯s easy to digest. ¡°If I want to immediately melt all the snow around I could use a [Heat Ball]¡­ No, that¡¯s no good. I¡¯m as utterly careless as my Master says, so I would probably submerge the cottage or cause some other horrible accident.¡± I¡¯ve recently become aware of my own carelessness, so let¡¯s deal with this carefully. ¡°After all, it would have to be at the level of evaporating the water¡­ No, I can already see my own future of turning into barbecue that way.¡± Hmmm¡­ chew, chew. ¡°I know, what about [disassembling] it? It¡¯s a solution that only someone who has the knowledge of modern society like me can do!¡± Snow is, after all, water. If I disassemble it by running a strong current through, it¡¯ll turn into a clear and harmless form of energy! I¡¯ll make sure I¡¯m well grounded so that I don¡¯t electrocute myself, and the result will just be hydrogen and oxygen. Completely harmless. Hydrogen is light, so it¡¯ll escape to the upper atmosphere, which means there shouldn¡¯t be any risk of explosion either right? ¡°With that decided, let¡¯s get right to it. If I remember right, the construction for a magic circle to run electricity through something is¡­¡± ~~~*~ Back on the roof, I immediately give [electrolysis] a try. Studying the magic circle for an [Electric Current], and constructing the spell to ground myself took a lot of time. It¡¯s almost snack time now. ¡°Alright, well then¡­ ¡°O Lightning, obey my will and quickly run through¡±!¡± My grounding is flawless. Looking at my surroundings, the snow is melting and disassembling. In the blink of an eye, the snow on the roof was gone, and I start working on the snow around the house. ¡°Perfect, perfect, at this rate it probably won¡¯t even take an hour to finish this.¡± All of a sudden¡­ I feel like I¡¯ve forgotten something. ¡°Hum? My preparations for this operation should have covered everything, but¡­¡± I pat myself down a bit to confirm that I haven¡¯t forgotten anything. Next I check my surroundings¨C And that¡¯s when I noticed smoke coming from the chimney. ¡°Oh, da¨C!? The fireplace!¡± That¡¯s right, oxygen is a burning accelerator. And hydrogen is a burning agent. When you disassemble water, those simple substances are highly flammable. In addition, to keep the room warm I had put some extra logs in the fireplace¡­ There are a lot of other easily burnable things inside too. In a panic, I cancel the spell, and when I began focusing my magic on the wind to blow away the oxygen¡ªthe cottage immediately exploded and burned¡­ My body, along with my consciousness, was blown away. ~~~*~ ¡°Mm¡­ hmm¡­?¡± Upon opening my eyes, I looked up at a familiar stone ceiling. It seems I¡¯m in the cottage¡¯s basement. There are four rooms in the basement of my Master¡¯s cottage. One is a refrigeration room for food. One is a freezer room for long-term storage. One is a storehouse for books and materials. And the last one is an empty room. ¡°Is this¡­ the empty room in the basement?¡± ¡°It seems you¡¯re awake?¡± Now that I take a good look, it seems I was being held by my Master while wrapped in a blanket. ¡°Uh? Uwaaaah?!¡± ¡°Stop flailing, calm down. You were on the verge of death after all.¡± I was reflexively flailing to push myself away, but he easily ended up catching me. Now that I mention it, there¡¯s a feeling in my body that¡¯s itchy, fuzzy, and¡­ warm? ¡°Goodness¡­ When I got back to the cottage, it was blown away and there was nothing but wreckage. You were buried in the snow and dying, so I was pretty shocked. What happened?¡± ¡°What¡­? Now that you mention it I¡ª¡± What have I done? I finally remembered. My master¡¯s home¡­ The place I was staying at¡­ That¡¯s right, the only place in this whole world I loved and could sleep in. My Master¡¯s home, and the place where my heart could feel comfortable. The place without anyone to give me bad memories, or painful memories, or even scary memories. That place is¡­ ¡°Aa, Aaaa¡­. Mas-ter¡­. I, am, so, sorry¡­.¡± Realizing the severity of the situation, my body trembles uncontrollably. Out of fear, I can¡¯t even look at my Master¡¯s face. My tears overflow, and my vision gets distorted. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! I¡¯m so sorry! I¡¯m so SORRY! I¡¯m so SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! I¡¯M SO SORRY! ¡­¡± I got down on my hands and knees, and seemed to bounce up and down as I pressed my head against the cold stone floor. ¡°I, Master, your home I¡­ destroyed it¡­ I beg you, I¡¯ll do anything, so please, don¡¯t, kick, me, out!¡± With my body still cold, snot and tears running down my face, I beg for forgiveness. My throat clogged with fear, I beg for mercy. ¡°I¡­ dun wanna be kigged out ov ¡®ere!¡± ¡°He- hey¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m begging you. I¡¯ll do anything, if you tell me to lick your shoes, then I¡¯ll lick them. If you tell me to take care of your crotch, then I¡¯ll take care of it. If you tell me to be your slave then I¡¯ll gladly do my best as it, so¡­¡± ¡°Calm down, just calm down!¡± I desperately beg for forgiveness on my hands and knees. ¨Con my hands and knees? That¡¯s actually a bit misleading. I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to get off the floor. I¡¯m still scared of looking at my Master¡¯s face, and I can¡¯t see it with my forehead against the floor. This is one of my usual simple mistakes. After blowing up my own home, nobody would say ¡°Oh well¡± and let me off the hook. When will he say ¡°Get out¡±? ¡­ Those words will spell my ruin. When I leave here, I won¡¯t be able to live a normal life. If I have another encounter like three years ago, then I won¡¯t be able to handle it. ¡°I¡¯m begging you, Hic¡­ Don¡¯t kick me out¡­ sob¡­ Please let me stay here¡­¡± ¡°¨CYou really think I¡¯d do that to you?¡± ¡°¡­ huh?¡± Unbelievable words. I was looking for them, but still, words I couldn¡¯t believe. ¡°I¡¯m the one who asked you to shovel the snow. And also, it¡¯s not like nobody has ever accidentally burned their house down. What happened today was ¡°Something like that¡± right?¡± ¡°Uu¡­¡± Saying that, my Master gently strokes my head. As always it made my body stiffen. But, that hand which is offering forgiveness is warmer than usual¡­ ¡°Indeed, having the house destroyed is a problem, but, well, everything important was stored in the basement. I¡¯m glad you weren¡¯t seriously injured. No, that you got better quickly I suppose?¡± ¡°¡­ Uuuu¡­¡± When I raised my head, there was my Master¡¯s troubled, but gentle face. ¡°Well, try to be more careful next time. Alright?¡± ¡°¡­ Uu¡­ UWAaaaaaaAAAaaaaAaaaaaa!¡± At those words of acceptance¡­ The turbulent delight, craziness, and other emotions I didn¡¯t understand swept me away. Entrusting myself to my Master¡¯s chest, I cried. It has been three and a half years since I came to this world. For the first time since coming here¡ªI voluntarily touched someone and cried out loud. Chapter 11: Miss Yuuri’s Brilliant Flag Evasion Chapter 11: Miss Yuuri¡¯s Brilliant Flag Evasion Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The morning after crying and clinging to my Master¡¯s chest. I always wake up earlier than my Master. I have to draw the water and water the fields after all. Last night, after getting tired and crying myself to sleep, I woke up on my Master¡¯s chest. We only have one blanket, so I guess there was no choice. Also, the room across from us is the refrigeration room, so this room is cold. Even if we warmed up the room with a [Heat Ball] spell, it would remain the same. When I think about the events of last night, my face turns bright red. Even so, after blowing up their home, to think there really was someone who said ¡°Oh well¡± and let me off the hook¡ª My Master is¡­ This guy is really¡­ ¡°¡­ He really is like a Hero.¡± He¡¯s the one who saved me from that hell. The one who rushes to my rescue when I¡¯m in danger. The one who gently wraps me up when I fail. ¡°If I wasn¡¯t a boy before, then this is where I would fall in love with him.¡± While entrusting my face to my Master¡¯s chest, while he¡¯s still lost in sleep I stroke his hair. The false beard around his mouth was out of place, so I try peeling it off. As usual he has an amazing baby face. ¡°Is this guy really human? There¡¯s no way he¡¯s actually an elf or something¡ªright?¡± I don¡¯t know if there are elves and such in this world yet though. With a fling I toss away the beard I pulled off, and stroke his face to check on the stubble. It¡¯s barely growing. I try poking at his cheeks, but he doesn¡¯t seem to be waking up. While playing with my Master, I start to feel a chill. So I get back under the blanket, and place my face back into my Master¡¯s chest. ¡°I-it¡¯s because I¡¯m cold, alright? Master has a high body temperature after all¡­¡± An excuse escapes from my mouth, directed at nobody in particular, and I place my hand to my Master¡¯s chest. And then, sometime while my hand was stuck to his chest, I begin gazing at his face¡­ ¡­ Huh? Isn¡¯t his face a bit close? No, It¡¯s too close! What the hell am I trying to do?! Blood is rushing to my head, and my heart is beating fiercely. I¡¯m sure I caught a cold. Otherwise¡­ My reasoning and my actions are diverging, and I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing anymore¡ªno, I know, but I can¡¯t stop. I can¡¯t stop?! From my hand I can feel my Master¡¯s heartbeat. My other hand moves up to his cheek. His face is already close enough that I can feel his breath. ¡°Fuaa¡­¡± A shuddering breath leaks out. My lips tremble, and with a gulp I swallow my saliva¡­ Foomp And with that I felt something warm and hard around my inner thigh area. It¡¯s a sensation that I¡¯m familiar with from the past. I know what it is without looking. The thing that¡¯s still healthy at that age. The thing that tortured me three years ago. The thing that I had three and a half years ago, which gets very hard, particularly in the morning. ¡°¡­ Fu¡± That feeling probably triggered it. I regained control of myself. Now, while I can! ¡°FUNYAAAaaaaa!!!¡± Bomf Along with my scream, I raised my knee¡­ and delivered it to my Master¡¯s vital area. ¡°Good morning, Master. N-now then, I¡¯m going to go wash my face.¡± I raise my voice to my fainting Master, who is bent over at a 90 degree angle, and tepidly leave the room. From behind me I hear my Master¡¯s voice say, ¡°It¡¯s hard being a man¡­¡± Yep, it really is. In multiple meanings. If it was me, and someone blew up my house, then woke me up by giving me a (critical) knee kick, I would never forgive them. Even if it was a young person like me¡­ No, for that very reason, after being aroused, then abused, knocked down, and being given such a hard time, being young makes no difference. When I think about that, my Master really does have a big heart. ¡°¡­ Fufu, ehehe¡± Being the apprentice of a master like that made me just a little bit proud, and happy, and¡­ a smile involuntarily rose to my face. ~~~*~ (Haster¡¯s Perspective) Like a deer bounding away, Yuuri leaves the room. Her good mood was apparent from a glance. If her mood can be lifted by taking a single hit, then I suppose feeling some pain was worth it? ¡°It¡¯s hard being a man¡­¡± Even so, wake-up hits hurt. Since it was the frail Yuuri, it wasn¡¯t a huge problem though. I was really surprised yesterday. After finishing my rescue work in the village, I returned to find the cottage blown away. When I looked for Yuuri I found her unconscious, in sticky clothes, and buried in the snow. It seemed that her burns had healed, but¡­ No matter how adaptable she is, there are limits. Carrying Yuuri, who was on the verge of death, I rushed to the unharmed basement. Down the stairs, I brought a blanket into the room, and warmed her body. I also placed a [Heat Ball]. Thanks to that, her life wasn¡¯t taken away. ~~~*~ After finally being released from my agony, I get myself up. Yuuri seems to be struggling with something on the staircase. As usual it¡¯s not clear what she¡¯s doing. Towards her presence I smile, and in contrast I remember the devastation from last night. ¡°Even if I told you not to die¡­ that shouldn¡¯t mean it¡¯s OK to get close to that point, you know?¡± There¡¯s an upper limit to what a person¡¯s spirit can take. No matter how many gifts you bring up, at some point that limit will be met. By dying repeatedly, that spirit will be worn down. A worn out spirit will eventually lead to a broken heart. However, if Yuuri can¡¯t be broken¡­ then what will happen? If they can¡¯t be broken¡ªthen they¡¯ll go mad. The direction their heart goes in. The preferences of their spirit. ¡°Even going mad while keeping your awareness¡­ is possible for a human, you know.¡± Though I know she can¡¯t hear me, I still speak out. She said she was overrun for half a year. Normally that should mean it was too late. How robust of a spirit did she have? How much optimism and goodness did she have? It probably involves the latter. Yuuri¡¯s heart is actually rather fragile. About the same as her body. However, the healing rate of that heart is faster than anyone in this world. With a natural good will. That¡¯s why she was safe. No, she came back. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who distrusts people. I also¡­¡± I¡¯ll say this myself, but I possess two gifts, one is Magic Tool Prodigy. To obtain that talent, more than just one or two countries maneuvered in secret. Secluding myself in the middle of this mountain was done for a good reason. At this point I freely stop by the village, but in the past it wasn¡¯t like that; I was cautious to avoid raising suspicion. Before Yuuri came here, I still hadn¡¯t stopped being so cautious. I didn¡¯t even show my face. ¡°And now it¡¯s come to this point. I really was saved. I was healed.¡± That bottomless good will and friendliness. Even though I¡¯m cautious, I don¡¯t doubt those words. After an encounter like that and even living with a stranger, she shows a lack of caution. She seems to be trying to get her act together, however, she has the innocence of a child. ¡°Master, we¡¯ve got a problem!¡± And so I hugged Yuuri, who came back. ~~~*~ (Yuuri¡¯s point of view) I climb the stairs and try to open the flip-up door, but¡­ It won¡¯t move?! It doesn¡¯t seem to be because of how weak I am. Somehow it looks like it¡¯s buried under a pile of snow. ¡°Does this mean¡­ We¡¯re buried alive?¡± What comes to mind are thoughts of starvation, suffocation, freezing to death¡­ I¡¯ll be fine, but my Master is in danger. I lightly apply [body strengthening] and try pushing, but the door doesn¡¯t even budge. It must be piled up quite a bit. I run back at full speed and report the situation to my Master. ¡°Master, we¡¯ve got a problem!¡± Going in with my momentum, I ended up being hugged tightly. ¡­ My momentum just stuck me to him. Really. There was no intimacy there. ¡°It looks like the door is buried, and we can¡¯t get out.¡± ¡°That is a problem.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that carefree attitude about! At this rate you¡¯ll starve to death you know?¡± ¡°Even though there¡¯s a refrigerator over there?¡± ¡°¡­ Ah.¡± Now that he mentions it, the room across from us was a refrigerator. We have more than a full keratos worth of meat in there. Since they¡¯re about 5 meters tall, that¡¯s bigger than an elephant would have been. We also have some frozen vegetables saved. We bought a large amount of them to prepare for winter. For water, we have a hand pump installed that we use for cleaning, and we also have a drain¡­ huh, wouldn¡¯t we normally be fine? Even with the cold, since we¡¯re magicians, if we use [heat ball], then I guess we could stay warm? ¡°No no, what about air?! Suffocation is still a possibility.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ Alright, Yuuri. How about destroying the door and melting the snow?¡± ¡°Is destroying it OK?¡± ¡°You ask that at this point?¡± Everything above was blown away. Coming to the bottom of the stairs, my Master says¡ª ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll do something instead of training today. Destroy the door, and dig an air hole in its place.¡± ¡°Yessir, I¡¯ll do my best!¡± What an excellent magician needs is not strong magic power, nor a variety of spells. It¡¯s the right spell for the situation. If I pile a bunch of power into the roof here and completely destroy it, then we¡¯ll become homeless in this midwinter snowfall. First is the door. Since this is the basement, fire would be dangerous. Since I don¡¯t have my Master¡¯s control over magic power, if I break it with wind, then there¡¯s no telling where the debris will fly. ¡­ hmph? ¡°¡®Strike, o spear of the earth!¡¯¡± I slowly and deliberately form a [dirt spear] to break through the door, and destroy it. With a rumble rumble the door falls apart, and on the other side was the expected pile of snow. Now all that¡¯s left is melting this. ¡°¡®O scorching light, gather together and become a spear to shoot down my foes!¡¯¡± By combining the [heat ball] and [light] spells together, I create the [heat ray] spell. At the end of my extended palm, a [heat ball] gathers, and 3 balls of light swirl in a circular pattern. A huge amount of radiating heat wraps up the surroundings¡ª ¡­ eh, doesn¡¯t this seem a bit strong? Well, whatever. ¡°He-HEY¡ª!¡± ¡°FIRE!!¡± BWOOM! The light made a spiraling vortex, and the charged light bullet evaporated the snow with tremendous momentum before flying off into the sky. I was trying to imitate a certain robot¡¯s helix particle gun, but¡­ It succeeded beyond my expectations. The roof¡­ very cleanly disappeared. The blown away roof was blocked up by my Master¡¯s [clay wall]. Then I was lectured for another three hours. Chapter 12: Let’s Get Ready to Head Out Chapter 12: Let¡¯s Get Ready to Head Out Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations It¡¯s been one week since we escaped from the basement! The cottage is back to normal¡­ is something I wouldn¡¯t say, but it is mostly restored. With my Master¡¯s [clay walls] and my [telekinesis], we effectively restored the outer walls in no time. The repair itself was done in two days, and incidentally my room was moved to the first floor. It¡¯s an addition to the building. This way I can omit the effort of going up and down the ladder. Also, I can sneak snacks this way. This body doesn¡¯t get fat, so I can even eat all the midnight snacks I want! This is the only time I want to say, ¡°Good job, God.¡± I can eat all the midnight snacks I want now, but¡­ unfortunately, there aren¡¯t many days where I can carry out such an operation. The reason being, in addition to my social phobia, I seem to have developed a dependence on my Master. If I can¡¯t see him at night time, then I end up unable to calm down. When I sneaked into my Master¡¯s room at night, and tried staring at him from the corner, he gave me an appalled look back. After this mysterious battle continued for three days, my Master broke, and I got permission to dive into the bed. Victory! This brings to mind childhood memories of my father letting me sleep with him, and it¡¯s somehow enjoyable. Sleeping while clinging to him is warm, too. A bit of a digression, but ever since then I have had absolutely no problems touching my Master. In fact, I¡¯m the one who can¡¯t keep my hands off of him. I wonder if this is what¡¯s called a rebound? For that reason, the plan to sneak into the basement¡¯s food storage is something I actually ended up becoming unable to do. I also became unable to take my glasses off at night, but since they¡¯re preventing ¡°Golden Ratio¡± from making my hair and face irresistible, it is absolutely no problem. Like this my spirits have been very stable lately¡­ but opposite of that, my Master seems to be lacking sleep lately. I wonder why? Might it be exhaustion? I¡¯m thinking of giving him a gentle massage later. ~~~*~ We¡¯re settled into the new house, and when we were finally at the point where we could resume training, Mr. Gusta of the village¡¯s tool store came to visit. ¡°Hey Mr. Haster, Yuuri. How¡¯ve ya been lately?¡± ¡°Hello Mr. Gusta. Come to think of it, it seems a disturbing nickname for me has spread through the village.¡± Being called a meat slave is something I won¡¯t forget, you know? By the way, I¡¯ve finally gotten to the point where I can at least have a conversation with Mr. Gusta. Though it took three years. ¡°What¡¯s this about? Didn¡¯t I sell you some rings just the other day?¡± My Master made some tea for our guest. Well done, Master. What, me? I had the very important job of sampling the sandwich I made myself. ¡°Why is Mr. Haster making me tea, while Yuuri is holding a sandwich?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s breakfast time?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean¡­¡± ¡°For Yuuri, housework is a little¡­ too dangerous I guess? What would I do if she spills the kettle or something?¡± ¡°Master, I¡¯d like to have a word with you later.¡± ¡°Is that so? So would I. Specifically, I have a sermon about the attitude of my apprentice.¡± ¡°I suddenly don¡¯t have anything to talk about.¡± Pardon me for what I brought on myself. Sitting seiza1 for that long is rough. ¡°In any case, I¡¯ve business with Mr. Haster today you see.¡± ¡°I suppose you wouldn¡¯t have business with Yuuri after all.¡± ¡°If she weren¡¯t so scared, then I¡¯d wanna come by to look at her face every day.¡± ¡°If you are ever reborn as a cute girl, then please come on by.¡± ¡°Not a boy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really into little boys.¡± ¡°Well then, what¡¯s your business?¡± The conversation quickly got derailed, but my Master got us back on track. It¡¯s easy to have small talk with Mr. Gusta so I just¡­ ¡°Ah, right. You know the river south of the mountain? The bridge that¡¯s over there has gone and collapsed. Mr. Haster, could you help us out?¡± ¡°That place, huh?¡­. That¡¯s the road that leads to Comb City, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the one. It¡¯s about time that the traveling merchants are supposed to arrive in Mareba, but since the bridge collapsed, they can¡¯t come from that direction.¡± This cottage is on the east side of the mountain, and Mareba village is at the foot of the south-eastern part of the mountain. To get to Comb from Mareba village, you have to go around the south side of the mountain, and then continue west for about three days. It¡¯s a pretty big city. This mountain isn¡¯t all that large, so it doesn¡¯t have any particular name. But lots of magical beasts live here, so in the nearby cities and villages it¡¯s famously referred to as ¡°that mountain¡± when they pass through. At the very least, my Master has a ¡°monster repelling barrier¡± placed on the cottage and the mountain road to protect us though. ¡°If the bridge stays like that, then the distribution of goods in the village is certain to stagnate¡­ Guess we¡¯ll have to. Yuuri, you too.¡± ¡°No, thanks.¡± I quickly submit my refusal. ¡°A lot of people will come to repair the bridge, right?¡± ¡°Certainly there¡¯ll be a lot of people, but¡­ if we have your [telekinesis], then the engineering work will be a lot easier.¡± ¡°I understand that, but¡­¡± For the cottage repairs, I was doing the heavy lifting of the rocks and trees, my Master used his [clay walls] to fix things in place, and it was fixed up in the blink of an eye. Particularly when putting scaffolding in a raging river, the strength of my [telekinesis] would probably be very convenient. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I really still can¡¯t deal with strangers¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to force you, but I think at this point it¡¯s necessary that you practice getting used to people.¡± ¡°Mr. Haster, you¡¯re making it sound like she¡¯s a wild animal.¡± Mr. Gusta is somewhat disgusted. ¡°But if Yuuri comes along, I¡¯m sure all the strong guys will be giving it their all, you see?¡± ¡°Gusta, that¡¯s the opposite of what she needs to hear.¡± When he mentions guys, my body stiffens in reaction. I certainly don¡¯t feel good about this, but¡­ Even though I rely on my Master to buy things in the village, I do want to overcome my inability to socialize. ¡°Geez¡­ If you insist, Master¡­ Then, I guess, I¡¯ll just have to go with you!¡± ¡°Oh, so you will come along! There¡¯s a big difference between only bringing along a suspicious old man to help, and bringing along a cute girl after all.¡± ¡°What, so I¡¯m not welcome? Guess I¡¯ll watch the house then.¡± ¡°If Master isn¡¯t coming along, then neither am I!¡± ¡°Oh, If I must¡­¡± You know there¡¯s no way I could go out in public alone, don¡¯t you? ¡°Gusta, do you have a horse outside? What about tools and such?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s tied up out front. The guys from the village should be preparing the tools and materials.¡± ¡°Then we just need to prepare some water and lunch. Could you let Yuuri ride the horse? Otherwise she¡¯ll collapse on the way there.¡± ¡°I am not that weak¡­¡± I¡¯m actually not confident of that¡­ Since descending from the mountain takes four hours. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get ready to head out. Yuuri, go get changed.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± ~~~*~ ¡°Go get changed¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this?¡± The outfit I prepared is an ankle-length black robe, with a scarf around my mouth. The hood is also shrouding my features. Even I know that this is an explosion of suspiciousness. I complete the outfit with gloves and boots, along with wearing my glasses, so there¡¯s hardly any skin showing at all. ¡°Well¡­ It is winter, so maybe thick clothes won¡¯t be a problem?¡± ¡°No no no, Mr. Haster. Won¡¯t this be a complete disappointment for the workers?¡± ¡°This is convenient for me in various ways too. There¡¯s the gifts to worry about after all, so I guess this is fine.¡± I have ¡°Eternal Youth,¡± so if the villagers remember my appearance, it¡¯s possible that I won¡¯t be able to stay here for very long. Since children are supposed to grow quickly¡ª My Master was probably also thinking along those lines. ¡°Even though I took the time to pick out such cute clothes¡­¡± ¡°You mean those strange and unwieldy clothes?¡± So those clothes my Master bought for me were based on Gusta¡¯s interests?! ¡°While walking around carrying those clothes, weren¡¯t the villagers giving me rather strange looks?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I wrapped them in a way to purposely make the contents visible.¡± The appearance of my Master walking around the village while carrying frilly robes and dresses¡­ A shame play, huh? Not bad Gusta! I instinctively send a thumbs up toward Gusta. Though there¡¯s no point in a shame play if the person himself doesn¡¯t get it. ¡°Ah right, Yuuri, take this for self defense.¡± While saying so, my Master hands me a short sword. At this size, I get the feeling it¡¯ll be a little heavy for me but¡­ oh? When I try holding it, isn¡¯t it surprisingly light? ¡°This is quite light¡­ isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s [enchanted] with [weight reduction] and [toughness]. [sharpness] was intentionally left unfinished and it can be filled with magic power, so you can fill it yourself later.¡± ¡°Oooh, is this the finished form of the refillable magic tool from before?!¡± ¡°Nope, it¡¯s a prototype.¡± ¡°Is this¡­ a new product? When you start production, would you sell them to me?¡± Mr. Gusta tries to snap it up immediately. I understand his feelings. When a ¡°completed¡± magic tool runs out of magic power, it¡¯ll break on its own. After ¡°completing¡± it, magic power can¡¯t be added to it, and there wouldn¡¯t be a point if it wasn¡¯t activated, so the [enchantment] endlessly consumes magic power, and eventually breaks. [Weight reduction], without fail, will exhaust its magic power and violently break, so magic tools couldn¡¯t always be called the better choice. This blade¡¯s ability was purposely left [unfinished], and could be mistaken as a [work in progress]. It has that trick crafted in so that magic power can be charged into it afterward. For those who can refill the magic power themselves, it can significantly reduce the weight of weapons. Swinging a huge sword around in the future has become a possibility even for me! A little girl with a huge weapon! The romance! I could use a spear, or a scythe, or even a musket! ¡°Since I purposely left it ¡°unfinished,¡± its strength dropped significantly from what it was before. I tried to supplement it by [enchanting] it with [toughness] afterward, but¡­¡± ¡°Hrmm... in other words the [toughness] [enchantment] is an essential part of it. Since there¡¯s a limit to how many enchantment entries can be put onto an item, isn¡¯t that a huge demerit?¡± ¡°On top of that, an unfinished entry has to be added to it. For a single [enchantment], three entries have to be added, so it¡¯s something to think about a bit.¡± ¡°For me the lightness is an important part of it though¡ª¡° ¡°Ummm¡­ If we don¡¯t leave soon, it¡¯ll be afternoon by the time we arrive won¡¯t it? We, who had suddenly launched into a magic tool discussion, were interrupted by Mr. Gusta. Grrr, interrupting my conversation with my Master¡­ It¡¯s kinda irritating, you know? ¡°Aah, you¡¯re right. Well then, shall we head out?¡± And that¡¯s how my first ¡°expedition to meet people¡± started. Chapter 13: The Large-Scale Construction Challenge Chapter 13: The Large-Scale Construction Challenge Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations ¡°Oh, Mr. Haster, you came to help!¡± Said a bear-like giant while waving his hand to us. I can also see eight other human-shaped figures. ¡°Hello, you¡¯re¡­ Mr. Zeppel wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°What, no greeting for me, chief?¡± My Master tactfully gives a return greeting. A bunch of people notice us and come this way. Some of them are even armed¡­ ¡°¡­ Uuh¡± People are¡­ my eyes are spinning¡­ my legs are trembling¡­ ¡°Aren¡¯t you just watching, Gusta? So then, who¡¯s the little one over there?¡± ¡°My apprentice; her name¡¯s Yuuri. Despite how she looks, she¡¯s pretty amazing.¡± ¡°HAHA! If you have Mr. Haster¡¯s seal of approval, then I have high expectations for you!¡± Mr. Zeppel walks up to me and sticks his hand out. He¡¯s probably expecting a handshake. ¡°Uu¡­ urp!¡± I was finally at the point where I couldn¡¯t take any more, so I escaped from his outstretched hand, rushed to the roadside¡ª ¡°Huuuuueeeeeeeehhhhh!¡± And grandly vomited. ¡°What in blazes¡­¡± Came the dumbfounded, discomfort filled voice from behind me. ¡°Sorry about that. A lot happened to Yuuri, and she¡¯s frightened of people. She¡¯s finally become accustomed to me only recently¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s at the point of being able to talk with me, but that took three years after all. Even now, she won¡¯t let me touch her.¡± I could hear my Master¡¯s apologetic voice, and Mr. Gusta¡¯s followup. ¡°Give me a minute. I¡¯ll go check on her.¡± I could hear my Master¡¯s footsteps coming this way. Oh no, is he angry? This is coming from me, but I don¡¯t think I could do anything about this awful sight¡­ Without raising my face to the nearby footsteps, I start talking. ¡°Sorry, Master. I¡¯ll be better in a little bit, so¡­¡± ¡°No need to rush. I¡¯m the one who forced you to come along after all.¡± Is he worried about me? My Master then gently rubs my back. He brought a canteen up to my mouth and urged me to drink. ¡°Here, have a drink? I squeezed a little lemon in there, so it should be really refreshing alright?¡± I place my own hand on top of my Master¡¯s hand, holding the canteen, and timidly drink the water. Fortunately there seems to be nothing else to let out. I rinsed my mouth out several times, and with one final drink I drained the canteen. ¡°¡­ Haa. Thank you very much, Master.¡± I gently take a deep breath, and hug my Master around his waist. ¡ªEverything will be fine, my Master is here with me. Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. ¡°Alright! I¡¯m fine now, Master. I was just a little startled.¡± ¡°¡ªYou¡¯re really not pushing yourself?¡± I really am just fine, since there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of with my Master here. ~~~*~ ¡°Sorry about that. I am the apprentice, Yuuri. I¡¯ve shown you something unpleasant.¡± I give Mr. Zeppel and the other villagers a polite apology. Except I didn¡¯t lower my hood. ¡°Yuuri has a little problem with her appearance you see. Allow her to remain in her current attire. ¡°I don¡¯t really mind, but even if I take look wouldn¡¯t I find a child? Or maybe a pygmy?¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ There¡¯s religious reasons.¡± Master, that excuse doesn¡¯t work for everything. ¡°It¡¯s a kind of curse. If you look at me nothing good will happen, but¡­ do you want to see?¡± ¡°Ugh, seriously?!¡± The one who spoke up was the armed young man next to Mr. Zeppel. When I send my eyes in his direction, he hastily introduces himself to me. Does he think I¡¯m gonna curse him? ¡°Ah, I¡¯m in charge of the village¡¯s security, and my name is Kime. I look forward to working with you.¡± With a timid appearance, Mr. Kime stretches out his hand. I ignore his hand, and lower my head. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Yuuri. Touching me won¡¯t cause any problems, but you should probably refrain from shaking my hand. So both our minds can be at ease?¡± ¡°Ha, haha¡­ that helps.¡± ¡°So, how¡¯s the bridge looking?¡± ¡°Aah, it¡¯s collapsed in a rather flashy way. It was the first huge snowstorm in a long time after all. The bridge¡¯s piers probably couldn¡¯t handle it.¡± ¡°In other words, we¡¯ll have to remake the whole thing¡­¡± In Mr. Zeppel¡¯s sight is my Master as he thinks about the restoration plan. They walk down to the river side to take a closer look. I grasp the end of my Master¡¯s robe, and stick close to him as I follow. ¡°Hey, look at that¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it pretty obvious what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Does Mr. Haster not notice?¡± ¡°Probably not, and it doesn¡¯t look Yuuri¡¯s aware of it either.¡± ¡°But doesn¡¯t she have a curse?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not really cursed. Though it¡¯s true that she has a variety of circumstances to her. Kime, if you shy away from that girl, you¡¯ll regret it you know?¡± ¡°Mr. Gusta, have you seen her face?¡± ¡°Of course, it gave me a huge shock!¡± Behind me I can hear a relaxed conversation going on, but for now I ignore it. The bridge¡¯s girders are rotten at the base, and broken at a 90 degree angle. The left half of the bridge was completely collapsed. ¡°This is pretty awful. When considering the next one, would building the bridge out of stone be better?¡± ¡°Except wouldn¡¯t it weaken in an earthquake or the like? When considering its resilience, a wooden bridge would be more sound.¡± ¡°Earthquake? We shouldn¡¯t have those around here.¡± ¡°I see, so earthquakes don¡¯t happen in this region.¡± I was thinking of Japan, one of the leading countries in the world for earthquakes. Over there a magnitude 4 earthquake would be reported with a laugh and an ¡°oh, it¡¯s a big one!¡± Whereas international students and the like would cower at even a magnitude 3; how nostalgic those memories are. ¡°If we don¡¯t need to worry about the ground shaking, then a sturdy stone structure would likely last longer. Rather, should we [enchant] it with [toughness]?¡± ¡°That would be a supreme waste of effort¡­ though I don¡¯t mind if you have an easy way to do it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s something I want to test out, so I would appreciate if you¡¯d let me give it a try.¡± ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t explode?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to!¡± What¡¯s with that? You make it sound like people randomly catch fire! I¡¯m a mild-mannered and famous Japanese person you know? Though I don¡¯t look like it right now. ¡°Chief, when considering what to do for the bridge, we¡¯re thinking we want a stone construction, but do we have to materials for that?¡± ¡°Stones, huh? As you might expect, we don¡¯t have any huge ones here.¡± ¡°What kinds did you bring?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got some clay for reinforcement¡­ but not much.¡± Clay, huh? ¡­ If I bake it then it¡¯ll get pretty hard though. ¡°There really isn¡¯t enough material here for the bridge. Is there a place around here to dig up more stones from?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯m very familiar with this area.¡± Mr. Zeppel replies to my query with an apologetic face. He can¡¯t do anything about not knowing, so I don¡¯t mind. ¡°Which means we might have to get them from far away and¡­ actually, if we¡¯re gonna [enchant] it with [toughness], is it really a big deal?¡± ¡°Even if we¡¯re gonna reinforce it with spells, we still need a base form for it.¡± ¡°Master, would you be able to use a [clay wall] to immediately make that form?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible, but¡­ the water¡¯s current is pretty strong you see.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ then, first of all, let¡¯s put V shaped walls over there and over there to obstruct the flow of the water. Before the water diverting walls break, we can raise some bridge piers, and bake the clay¡¯s surface.¡± I pick up a fallen tree branch and use it to draw a simple blueprint on the ground. My Master stands over me and looks at what I drew in the ground and¡­ huh? Was that my heart throbbing? ¡°I-if we get the piers in place first, then we can use lumber to form the base, and compact dirt onto it. After that we¡¯ll [reinforce] it.¡± ¡°Quite the large scale¡­ can you do it?¡± ¡°Easily!¡± With a ¡°hmhm!¡± I stick my chest out, since I can brag about how strong my magic power is. ¡°Then Yuuri, you¡¯ll divert the water, and I¡¯ll make the piers. Since you can do any spare construction, you should be able to bring the walls back up if they collapse.¡± ¡°Ahh, good point. Then I¡¯ll handle the water diverting wall. While I do that, Master will make the piers, and when they¡¯re ready I¡¯ll bake them and give them [toughness].¡± Together with my Master we consider the design for the bridge. All that¡¯s left is altering the [toughness] construction process a little bit, and¡­ ~~~*~ When all was said and done, we completed the bridge in just one hour. There were (surprisingly) no mistakes in the procedure, and in the blink of an eye we raised the form up, baked it, and completed the piers. All that remained was bringing the lumber together with [telekinesis], adding clay walls to that wooden core then placing it to make the bridge, and [enchanting] the whole bridge with [toughness]. We originally planned to add the [enchantment] magic circle through manual labor, but I used a [fire] spell to burn a huge [toughness] circle across the whole bridge in one go. Lastly we fill it with magic power, and it¡¯s complete. On this occasion, taking advantage of how huge the size of it is, I poured about 50% of my magic power into it. This bridge will hold for 100 years! With the reforming done, I show off my smug face. ¡°Would ya look at that¡­ certainly, just as Mr. Haster was boasting about her, she¡¯s unbelievable.¡± ¡°What did the rest of us come here for again?¡± ¡°With [toughness] added on, I think it should be fine as it is. But, to keep the magic circle from disappearing, if you were to cover the outside of the bridge in wood, it¡¯ll probably hold a little bit more. ¡°100 years¡­ nah, with Yuuri nothing is impossible, but that¡¯s ridiculous.¡± While hiding behind my Master, who¡¯s giving off a cold sweat, I give an explanation to Mr. Zeppel and the rest. ¡°Aah, as a cushion substitute, would you lay out some wood? That¡¯ll probably be good.¡± ¡°Us guys can do something like that. Actually, please let us do that; our positions are at stake.¡± Everyone is standing on top of the bridge, and bouncing up and down to confirm its strength. Looking from the side, it¡¯s quite the pleasant scene. ¡°We pulled the soil from our surroundings to make it, so the river became a little wider in this area, but¡­ Well, if we get such a sturdy bridge for just that, it should be fine.¡± ¡°But really, you certainly do meet expectations. Making such a huge bridge so easily and such. It¡¯s something any country would want¡­¡± Ah, certainly¡­ rivers can be considered one of a base¡¯s defenses. Such a river, and a whole army would easily cross it with two magicians. Doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯re a kind of strategic weapon? ¡°Well, let¡¯s keep the bridge¡¯s construction a secret, yeah? Since it¡¯ll spell trouble in the future.¡± ¡°Aah, right. Nobody will say a word. We¡¯ll also be in a bind if you disappear on us, Mr. Haster.¡± As we somehow realized the dangerous truth and let out dry laughs, I suddenly felt I could hear something like a dog barking. Looking in the direction of the barking, I distort the air with a spell to create a simple telescope. When I do, I see¡­ ¡°Master, someone¡¯s being attacked by a wolf on the other side!¡± Saying that, as quickly as possible I applied [reinforcement], jumped from the bridge and rushed forward. In the future this bridge would be given the name The Great Haster Bridge, and it really did hold for 100 years. Chapter 14: Rescue Operation… and Combat! Chapter 14: Rescue Operation¡­ and Combat! Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The scene I saw was of a child being attacked by three wild dog-like creatures at the riverside. While jumping off the bridge, I invoke [body reinforcement] to strengthen my agility, and prepare for landing. Reaching the ground, I nearly got down on all fours, and immediately ran towards my destination. With the spell distorting the air, temporarily named [far sight], as far as I could see there was one person being attacked. One of the attacking animals was holding something in its mouth, and the child¡¯s clothes were red¡ªin other words, it was possible the child was bleeding. ¡ªIf I don¡¯t get there fast, the child¡¯s life could be in danger. My reinforcement¡¯s allocation is 20% in agility, and 20% in vitality. I barely put enough into my vitality, as I¡¯m getting a grinding pain in my legs. However, if I consume much more than this, then I won¡¯t stand a chance fighting those wild dogs(?)¡­ But if I restrict myself too much, then I won¡¯t make it in time. Even this speed is a little faster than a sports car. If I were to calculate this later, then I guess I would be going a little less than 400 kilometers per hour? My legs kick out as if exploding across the riverside, and I run in a nearly crawling position across the ground. Before long I arrived at the scene of the attack. It was just about 10 seconds, and I traveled 1 kilometer. After only running that much, my legs are already shaking. The child was a boy. The boy¡¯s left arm is already gone past the elbow¡­ Is he unconscious? Did I not make it in time? He¡¯s not even moving an inch. ¡°u! AAAAaaaaahhh!! From my waist, I pull out the short sword I received from my Master and, maintaining my running momentum, I thrust the sword into one of the wild dogs. Tackling it and rolling on the ground, I twist the blade to deliver the finishing blow. Confirming that the wild dog has gone into its death throes, I raise my face to look in the direction of the young boy. Alright, his chest is moving slightly. ¡°Thank goodness, I made it in time¡­¡± Having suddenly jumped in here, the remaining two dogs circled me, they were being cautious for now. Just like the dogs, I can feel that my opponents are tough ones, so I can¡¯t make any clumsy moves. It¡¯s a deadlock¡­ except, is it because it saw me as a small child? One of the dogs decides to jump at me. While crouching down to dodge the attack, I pull my sword¡ªI can¡¯t get it out?! Did it get entwined in the dog¡¯s flesh because I twisted it? Is it because its muscles tightened in its convulsions?¡­ With my strength, I couldn¡¯t pull the sword out. Moreover, did I hurt myself from the momentum of stabbing it? My right hand is numb, and I can¡¯t get any strength into it. In that unexpected moment of distraction, though I dodged the wild dog¡¯s attack, it caught my hood on its claw and pulled me down. ¡°Awch?!¡± Dragged to the ground, I raise a pained cry. With the impact of the fall, my glasses flew off my face¡­ and the wild dog¡¯s attitude completely changed. From the excitement of hunting, to the excitement of breeding. Between its hind legs, something that looks like a dark red rod is¡ª ¡°Wait, ¡°Golden Ratio¡± even works on dogs?!¡± Reflexively attempting to pick up my glasses, I was pounced on from behind, and I couldn¡¯t move any further. ¡ªDamn it, I should have ignored the glasses and attacked instead! Even if I regret acting on my trauma and going after my glasses on reflex, it¡¯s too late now. With me being pushed down on the ground, from behind me, around the area of my waist, I can feel something abnormally warm, hard, and moist¡­ ¡°Wait a minute! Certainly I like animals, but my tastes don¡¯t go this far! In fact I¡¯m a cat lover, so lemme go!!¡± In a panic I tried making assertions which made no sense, but of course it wasn¡¯t listening to me. ¡ªThis is why I hate poorly disciplined puppies! I immediately pass my sword from my right hand to my left, put it in a reverse grip and attack behind me. In response to my desperate attack, the wild dog jumped off of me. I promptly got my body off the ground to get into an intercepting stance¡­ except I couldn¡¯t. The moment I turned around, the other dog came to give me a body blow from the other side. Falling back on the ground, my robe rides up. Pushing me down on the ground, the dog¡¯s¡ªthis time I can feel its heat directly on my skin¡­ ¡°D¡­ DON¡¯T?!¡± That feeling brings to mind what happened 3 years ago, and my thoughts stop. What appear in my thoughts aren¡¯t countermeasures to struggle through this, nor strategies to turn the situation around¡ªonly fearful memories. I can¡¯t knead magic power, nor can I swing my blade. I just powerlessly claw at the ground, trying to get away¡ª BWOOM, goes a tremendous roar. Just before my thoughts were dyed in despair, the upper body of the dog holding me down was blown away by a shell of wind. Pebbles raised with wind and pulled into a spiraling pattern, the wind reinforced with the pebbles wrapped up in it was almost like a converged gunshot. But, even though it passed right next to me, it had the perfect control to not even graze me. ¡°M, Master!¡± ¡­ My hero rushed over to me. ~~~*~ If you calm down and think about it, it¡¯s just a dog. Being no match for my Master, the remaining one was destroyed in an instant. From the head down I was doused in wild dog blood and viscera, and my Master hugged me¡­ and then dropped his fist on me. ¡°Th-that hurts, Master.¡± ¡°You bet it does! Good grief, why did you go on ahead like that? And what do you think you have magic for?¡± ¡°Master, this is the deeply moving scene of the assaulted heroine being saved. Why the heck did you hit me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need a heroine doused in entrails!¡± Sure, I¡¯m covered in a wild dog¡¯s stuff right now, but come on! Still, what my Master said is true; incorporating magic into this dangerous situation, the first dog aside, if I had used my spells to deal with the remaining two, they wouldn¡¯t have had a chance, so¡­ Coming from Japanese society, with its love of physics, I didn¡¯t reach the conclusion of choosing any spells for this fresh situation. I wonder if this is what they call a lack of battle experience? ¡°But, thank you very much. And sorry, Master, for letting the blood rush to my head¡­¡± ¡°m! ¡­ Well, as a result you saved the child, so I¡¯ll let you off with that¡­ But next time instead of moving impulsively, think of the best course of action.¡± Seeming to wither from my upturned and repentant eyes, my Master¡¯s poisonous anger abated. But why is he turning his eyes away? Look at me, please! Like that, my Master heads over to the injured child and gives him medical treatment. ¡°Is he alive?¡± ¡°Barely, it seems. If I use a healing spell then I could even reconnect his arm but¡­ No, if this much was eaten, then I guess it¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t regenerate it or something?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a rather high level healing spell, and is even more impossible for me.¡± With the effects of a healing potion we had on hand, the bleeding was stopped, but¡­ huh? This kid? When I checked his status with ¡°appraise¡± to look at his health, he had a gift. ¡°Master, this kid¡­ he has a gift.¡± ¡°Ha?¡± ¡°He has ¡°Two-Handed Sword Talent¡± I guess?¡± ¡°¡­ He¡¯s in this condition, and he has that talent, huh?¡± My Master looks at the young boy with a pained expression. Yeah, this kid¡¯s left hand is already¡­ ¡°Mr. Haster, Yuuri! Are you alright?!¡± Finally reaching the scene, Mr. Gusta and the others rush over. But they don¡¯t have any way to move as quickly as my Master and I, so they couldn¡¯t help taking so long. Mr. Kime, keeping vigilant of his surroundings, investigated the area while moving forward. He seems surprisingly familiar with this. ¡°Yikes, this¡¯s awful¡­¡± ¡°At least the bleeding stopped. There¡¯s a risk that he¡¯ll develop a fever tonight, so I¡¯m thinking of letting him rest at my place.¡± ¡°Aah, I wouldn¡¯t mind you doing that. With that said, are his parents not here?¡± ¡°¡­ Mr. Zeppel, they were over here. Two people. There¡¯s not enough left of them here or there to be alive. There don¡¯t appear to be any other wild dogs either.¡± Mr. Kime, still vigilant of his surroundings, emerged from a grove of trees near the river and came back over. Basically that means this child is also all alone in this world now, huh¡­ ¡°I see¡­ Zeppel, sorry about this, but could you find some foster parents for this child?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure. We can¡¯t very well abandon him after all.¡± ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this kid Alec?¡± When seeing the young boy, Mr. Gusta raised his voice in surprise. ¡°Gusta, you know him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the traveling merchants¡¯ son. Why is he in a place like¡­¡± ¡°He probably got caught up in the bridge¡¯s collapse. Since the place is down stream.¡± ¡°If so, then what about their luggage?¡± ¡°The river¡¯s water level rose in the thaw. It probably got washed away.¡± The traveling merchants have a consistent yearly schedule when passing through the villages. So they don¡¯t have a house, or a family registry, or a lot of other things, so I hear. This child¡­ Alec doesn¡¯t have any house to go back to. ¡°During this season the wild animals have empty bellies, and are ferocious. Please make sure the villagers are being cautious.¡± ¡°For now I¡¯ll inform the watch to be vigilant. Pioneering villages and the like are good bait, after all.¡± Since many people were arriving, I¡¯m hiding in my Master¡¯s shadow, and my Master is prompting the villagers to use caution as he instructs them. And his crisp expression is¡­ ¡ªSo gallant, isn¡¯t it¡­ er, HA?! Nonono, It¡¯s not like I fell for him OK? It¡¯s an indiscretion of this tense scene! Mr. Kime is responding to my Master¡¯s instructions. Even though Mr. Kime appears to be young, I wonder if he¡¯s a rather powerful person? Though he doesn¡¯t appear to have a gift. Also¡ª ¡°Master. Instead of just for today, could we take care of him for a while longer?¡± ¡°Yuuri, see here¡­ With you, who doesn¡¯t like people, around, we can¡¯t take care of him for long you know? Sorry but if I have to choose between you and this child, you¡¯d be the one I choose.¡± ¡°I appreciate that but¡­ right, I¡¯ll try to endure it, so please do me this favor!¡± My Master very simply said something that makes me happy. I was a little troubled, but until this child can be independent, I would be willing to keep him company. ¡ªI felt something like compassion for Alec being all alone after all. ¡°¡­ ¡ªSome months then. During that time we could probably train in the sword. Recently I¡¯ve been having you study to prepare for this kind of thing, Yuuri, and I would be glad if it didn¡¯t go to waste.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a waste for me! I did take out one of the dogs.¡± Thinking about Alec¡¯s future, and to distract ourselves from depressing feelings, we had that kind of lighthearted banter. On this day, my family grew. Chapter 15: I Got a Little Brother! Chapter 15: I Got a Little Brother! Alec is being carried back to the house on my Master¡¯s back, and I¡¯m following behind him on horseback. Mr. Zeppel and Mr. Gusta are putting the finishing touches on the bridge; they let us head back first. With the effect of the healing potion we stopped the bleeding, but I expect he lost a considerable amount of blood before I rushed over. Moreover, he probably had a taste of some severe pain. He still doesn¡¯t seem to be waking up. Even so¡­ ¡°That¡¯s my seat, newbie¡­¡± Some kind of compulsion caused me to say that without thinking. ~~~*~ For now we lay Alec down on the bed in my room to watch over him for the night. ¡ªWhy my bed, you ask? Ever since that time, I¡¯ve been sleeping together with my Master, so the bed over here doesn¡¯t get used at all, making it the nicest bed in the house! In preparation for a fever, we¡¯ve got a water basin and fever medicine ready on the side table. We removed his clothes and wiped him off¡ªwell, my Master took care of this part for me. Then a cooled cloth on his forehead¡­ Oh right, I guess I¡¯ll add some ice to the water basin? I lightly apply [freeze] to part of the water and drop the water¡¯s temperature. We can¡¯t have him getting thirsty, so let¡¯s prepare a jug of water for him too. I soak the leaves of the herbal fever medicine in the water, then hide the bitter taste by mixing some apple juice in. ¡°I wonder if this is good enough?¡± I briskly get the preparations together. When my Master notices, he looks over at me with a pleasant smile on his face. ¡°What¡¯s that face for, Master?¡± ¡°Well¡ª, I was thinking it¡¯s almost like watching a little sister lovingly taking care of her sick older brother¡± ¡°From what I heard, Alec is 12 years old, so that makes him younger then me you know?¡± (Hmhm!) ¡°With that appearance, even if you stick your chest out¡­¡± With a three-pointed cloth wrapped around my head, and wearing an apron like what would be worn for lunch duties, my Master gives me a bitter smile. How rude. ¡°Uh¡­ gh¡­ H-huh? Where¡­?¡± I wonder if it¡¯s because we were making a ruckus at the bedside? Alec seems to have awoken. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake?¡± ¡°How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?¡± Ufufu, he was pretending not to care, but my Master was worried too. Your repeated questions make it completely obvious, see? ¡°Yuuri, wipe that stupid grin off your face.¡± ¡°Hmm~, even saying all that, you were worried too, Master¡± ¡°Of course I was. I treated him, so I have a responsibility here.¡± ¡°Trea¡­ ted?¡± With that word, he probably remembered the disastrous scene from before he fainted. Alec looks at his left hand¡­ the left hand that isn¡¯t there, and gazes dumbfounded at it¡­ ¡°Ah, Aaah¡­. AAAhhh¡­ UWAAAAaaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaaa!!¡± Suddenly, he started blindly thrashing about. ¡°Hey, calm¡­ shit, he¡¯s panicking?¡± ¡°Wa, M-Master¡ªDo, some-uwa!?¡± ¡°Guess this¡¯ll have to do.¡± A thud, anda body blow. Throwing the pillow, messing up the blankets, flailing his legs; Alec was rampaging like that¡ªso my Master delivered a blow to his gut. The precise fist hitting Alec¡¯s diaphragm stops his breathing, his face turns blue, and he collapses on the bed. ¡°¡­ Master¡± That was way too direct a way of coping with the situation, and I cast an unusual condemning gaze over to my Master. ¡°Ah¡ª, there¡¯s nothing else I could have done, right? If he doesn¡¯t calm down, then we can¡¯t do anything.¡± You seem to be giving a calm explanation, but aren¡¯t your eyes swimming a bit? ¡°For now, I guess I¡¯ll burn some incense with a sedative effect¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a problem if he starts acting violently again after all. I¡¯ll go get it, Master, so please tuck Alec back into bed.¡± Since I can¡¯t touch him. ~~~*~ ¡°Are you awake? Don¡¯t go rampaging this time.¡± My Master asks in a heavier than usual voice, as Alec opens his eyes thinly. Without answering that voice, Alec holds his left arm in front of his face¡ª ¡°So it wasn¡¯t a dream¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, It¡¯s unfortunate, but I couldn¡¯t get your hand back.¡± ¡°What about Mom and Dad?¡± ¡°That¡¯s also, well, it¡¯s¡­ unfortunate.¡± As if looking at something far away, Alec speaks in a quiet voice. I have some recollection of that kind of tone. It¡¯s the voice of someone becoming desperate and despairing. I quietly leave the room and head to the storehouse in the basement. After steeping a strong tea, I dissolve ¡°what I was getting¡± into it, and return to the room. ¡°Since you¡¯re probably thirsty, I¡¯ve made some tea. It¡¯s hot, so please be careful drinking it.¡± ¡°Ahh, thanks for that. I was just getting thirsty.¡± twitch, twitch ¡°AaaaaAAAAaaaah!!?¡± ¡°W-what is it?¡± Why are you drinking it, Master¡ª?! This is bad. I-I¡¯ve gotta get him out of here before the medicine takes effect! ¡°Th-that¡¯s right, Master! T-t-t-there¡¯s something I want to talk with you about, please come over here!¡± ¡°Urk¡­ I get it already, stop pulling me.¡± I tighten my grip on the back of my Master¡¯s collar and pull him out of the room. Just barely getting to my Master¡¯s room in time, the medicine appears to have taken effect. ¡°ZZZz¡ª¡­ Zzzzz¡ª¡­¡± Upon entering the room and collapsing, my Master is now letting out calm sleeping breaths. On the floor. ¡°This guy, he¡¯s clearly just acting on his own gluttony, isn¡¯t he. Honestly, geez.¡± With him left here like this, indeed, as his apprentice I¡¯ll have to do something; let¡¯s carry him to the bed. ¡°Hn, Hngggghhh¡­¡± I¡¯ve said this before, but my Master is solidly built. That¡¯s why, if I¡¯m going to carry him, it¡¯ll have to be on my back, so¡­ While dragging my feet, I somehow make it to the side of the bed¡ª ¡°Buwaah!?¡± My feet slipped out from under me, and like that my Master fell and crushed me. It¡¯s heavy! It¡¯s hot! I can feel his breath on my neck! Ah, but it might be nice to sleep like this¡­ stop that, me! ¡°Ah- mo- Master, move over¡­ you¡¯re- heavy!¡± ¡°What are you people doing¡­?¡± While I¡¯m pinned between the bed and my Master, flailing around and making noise, I hear an amazed voice come from behind me. A little bit ago when my Master fell, it made a grand noise, so I wonder if he got worried and came to check on us? What a good kid. ¡°A-Alec, could you help out here plea¡­ ahya¡± ¡°But I¡¯ve heard that¡¯s not something done with three people?¡± ¡°Ah, eh? W-wait no! That¡¯s not it!¡± I guess it was because I let out a strange noise from the breath on my neck? Whatever the cause, he seems to have gotten a strange misunderstanding. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll quietly go back, so take your time¡­?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t what it looks like, it¡¯s really not!¡± I should have carried him with [body reinforcement]. ~~~*~ ¡°Master, I don¡¯t think I need to be upside down¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough from you.¡± ¡°Are you people actually comedians or something?¡± In the end Alec helped me out, and after I detoxified my Master, he hung me upside down from the room¡¯s ceiling beams. ¡°Well, let¡¯s leave that idiot aside for now.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me aside.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Yessir.¡± ¡°What made you do that in the first place?¡± ¡°Alec looked like he was at his wit¡¯s end, so I thought for now he could get some time to rest with some sleeping pills.¡± ¡°Putting him to sleep isn¡¯t going to do anything for him.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t it? Time is a universal cure-all. Some things can turn out just fine by giving it a little time. Of course, the opposite is true for some things too.¡± Though that¡¯s my own past experience. In my situation it was that opposite case; when I gave it a little time it accelerated the deterioration of the situation. I closed off my heart and suddenly, by the time I noticed, the number of people increased by three times. The despair of the situation increased, but I feel like my heart has been healed just a little bit. From that time. ¡°Well, enough of that. So, ah, should we just call you Alec?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. I¡¯m Alec Burns.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Haster Albine. That is my apprentice, Yuuri.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Yuuri, I have no surname. By the way, Master. My glasses are going to fall off. This is bad.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± ¡°Wh-why are you bringing the water bag over here?¡­ Buwha!?¡± ¡°Stay like that for a little bit.¡± ¡°My eyes¡ª! I can¡¯t see¡ª!?¡± My Master covered my head with a bag, and now I can¡¯t see anything. ¡°Well then, Alec. About what you¡¯ll do from now on.¡± ¡°Right. If mom and dad aren¡¯t here¡­¡± ¡°About that, for now I¡¯ve asked Mareba¡­ aah, the nearby village, to find foster parents for you.¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? Thank you very much.¡± I guess he has already grasped his situation? What an intelligent child. ¡°We couldn¡¯t very well kick you out after all. And there¡¯s something else.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± ¡°About your gift.¡± ¡°My¡­ gift?¡± ¡°According to Yuuri¡¯s perception, you have a ¡°two-handed sword¡± gift it seems.¡± ¡°Two-handed sword¡­ with these hands?¡± Alec stares at his hand (or probably his lack thereof). ¡°Now, of all times¡­¡± ¡°Well, of course you¡¯ll think that. However, destiny always and only gives out ¡®now, of all times¡¯ moments. I¡¯ve also been cursed with those countless times.¡± ¡°If only I had more power right then.¡± ¡°The past can¡¯t be changed. However, you can be prepared for the future¡­ have you ever felt like learning the sword?¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible, and it would probably be pointless. Since I¡¯m missing an arm.¡± Alec gave that despair-laden mutter. For someone with a ¡°two-handed sword¡± gift, that would likely be a fatal problem¡­ ¡°That has nothing to do with no longer having both your hands. Even without having your gift, it doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t swing a sword.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me to use a sword with one hand?¡± ¡°You know, most soldiers don¡¯t have that kind of gift. Of course, neither do I. But they can still handle a sword. If you desire, I can teach you the basics.¡± ¡°Can it be done¡­?¡± ¡°It can, at least enough to scare away wild dogs.¡± ¡°Will I be able, to protect them?¡± ¡°¡­ That will depend on you.¡± ¡®Who?¡¯ Is something my Master didn¡¯t ask. I guess he¡¯s talking about the ¡°them¡± he couldn¡¯t protect? ¡°Please, teach me¡­!¡± That¡¯s how I got a little brother. Also, in the eyes of the two boys conversing, I am air¡­ ah, a nosebleed¡­ Chapter 16: Let’s Make a Weapon Chapter 16: Let¡¯s Make a Weapon Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Since then, Alec1 became a freeloader, and a week passed. Perhaps because our circumstances are similar, I don¡¯t recall feeling much aversion to him, and I quickly got used to touching him. About the condition of his injury; my Master¡¯s healing potion has a weak immediate effect, but it was unusually strong in this case. By the time we arrived at the cottage, his bleeding stopped, and by night time he could stand up just fine. Three days later he had recovered to the point where he could do normal daily activities. It has been four days since then. In the morning, when I return from drawing water, the clank, clank, of wooden swords meeting reverberates in the air. In the afternoon they wash themselves off, and study magic. Then until nightfall, they continue their battle in the name of training. And at night time he eats dinner, takes a bath, and sleeps like log¡­ ¡°Recently, hasn¡¯t my presence here been kinda thin? It¡¯s as I thought; men actually find boys cuter, don¡¯t they?¡± This feeling of alienation seems to be giving me an inferiority complex, so let¡¯s start showing off my own appeal tomorrow. Fortunately, in the new cottage, thanks to my fierce request, we have a bath inside! Well, though I call it a bath, it¡¯s really just a stone bathing tub that my Master made. We have to get water from the pump to pour into it, and heat up the water with a [heat ball], so it¡¯s a pretty rough set-up, but¡­ Anyhow, when you think of family skinship, it¡¯s gotta be a family bath. Since I¡¯m a child, there shouldn¡¯t be any legal issues either! That said, the next day when I intruded on the bathroom, not just my Master, but even Alec got angry at me. Someday I think I want my dream of a ¡°Family Bath¡± to be realized. ~~~*~ The days continued on like that, but of course it¡¯s not like I was doing nothing either. Today I¡¯m heading over to Mareba Village alone to do some research. Instead of a payment for our bridge construction work, we received a horse and a small carriage. As such, a round trip to the village has become easier. The theme of my research right now is Alec¡¯s gift: ¡°two-handed sword talent¡±. For that research, I need to know more about weapons. ¡°Oh, well if it isn¡¯t Yuuri? On an errand today?¡± Arriving at the village entrance, Mr. Kime, who I know, comes to meet me. ¡°Good afternoon. I have a little something I want to talk with the blacksmith about.¡± ¡°Mr. Kime, wassup with this suspicious kid?¡± Another gatekeeper sends his bluntly distrustful gaze my way. Well, I¡¯ve got the black outfit from before equipped, so I can¡¯t blame him, but¡­ ¡°This is the apprentice from Mr. Haster¡¯s place. In spite of her looks, she¡¯s an amazing magician, so don¡¯t be rude.¡± ¡°Wha, the rumored meat¡ª¡° ¡°Mr. Kime, what is ¡°in spite of her looks¡± supposed to mean? Also, don¡¯t call me a meat slave!¡± To the person calling me by such a rude name, I raise both of my arms and make my protest clear. What¡¯s with that sunny look you¡¯re sending over here, Mr. Kime? ¡°If it¡¯s the blacksmith you need, then that would be Mr. Bartin. I¡¯ll guide you to his house. Gordon, that being the case, I¡¯ll leave you in charge here for a bit.¡± ¡°S-sure. I don¡¯t mind, but¡­¡± ¡°Yuuri, may I use the carriage? I¡¯ll handle driving.¡± ¡°Much obliged.¡± Without being used to operating the carriage yet, places with people made me a little scared, so I¡¯ll gladly leave the driving to him. I transfer from the drivers seat to the luggage area. Let¡¯s enjoy taking in the village¡¯s scenery. Since I¡¯m a little scared of sitting next to him¡­ ¡°Mr. Bartin is a little eccentric, but will you be alright?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got an objective, so I¡¯ll do my best.¡± He¡¯s probably worried about me. When I met Mr. Kime, I vomited everywhere, so that would make sense. ¡°If it¡¯s the blacksmith you need, then it must be about a weapon for Alec? Aah, speaking of which, his foster parents haven¡¯t been decided yet. Sorry ¡¯bout that.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s taking care of a person after all, so I don¡¯t think it will be decided that easily.¡± ¡°Right now he¡¯s receiving training from Mr. Haster, isn¡¯t he? If he becomes a competent enough swordsman, then I think the possibility of living on his own is also on the table though.¡± ¡°Except he¡¯s only 12 years old. On top of that, he just lost his parents. Someone needs to be with him.¡± ¡°Though I think there are some problems with sitting in on a newlywed household, you know¡­¡± Hm? What did he just say? ¡°Newlywed household¡­? Don¡¯t tell me, some nice person and my Master are?!¡± ¡°Ah, no, that¡¯s not¡­ right, there¡¯s nobody by Mr. Haster besides you, Yuuri, so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Are you telling the truth?¡± I glare at Mr. Kime with moistened eyes. A cold sweat is flowing from him, but he doesn¡¯t seem to be lying? ¡°But, I guess that¡¯s true. If my Master were to get married, I¡¯d have to leave the cottage as well¡­¡± To be honest, just by imagining that future¡­ I feel a chill and get goosebumps. It doesn¡¯t seem like I can separate myself from my Master yet. But I need to at least be prepared for such a situation. ¡°¡­ Haaa.¡± Seeing my face pulled tight in a serious expression, Mr. Kime lets out a sigh for some reason. What is it? This is a very serious problem for me, OK? ¡°Aah, over there is Mr. Bartin¡¯s workshop. Can you remember the way?¡± ¡°Just fine. My memory is quite good after all.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll introduce you so, let¡¯s see, give me a moment to find a place to stop the horse.¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± After I jumped out of the luggage area, Mr. Kime went to tie up the carriage¡¯s horse. Mr. Bartin¡¯s workshop gives off a sincere, no nonsense impression. Since water is indispensable for household chores, there¡¯s a well dug up for use outside, and firewood is piled up next to the house. On the roof there¡¯s a chimney, and black smoke is billowing out of it. The front of the house turns into a small shop, and from the window you can spy a dimly lit store interior. ¡°Woow¡­¡± I reflexively let out a voice of wonder. The dimly lit store interior was crowded with weapons and armor. There doesn¡¯t seem to be much effort put in to selling it, but for a modern person like me, it¡¯s an exciting spectacle. ¡°This village is a pioneering village after all. Wild animals and mythical beasts occasionally come attacking, so instead of a fancy storefront, it¡¯s better that we have an assortment of items.¡± Mr. Kime returned from tying up the horse, and nonchalantly pushed open the door. With a cling, cling, the door bell attached to the door informs that visitors are here. ¡°Mr. Bartin, I¡¯ve brought you a customer. She¡¯s probably a really good one¡ª¡° ¡°I won¡¯t deny that, but what¡¯s with that introduction?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the racket about?¡± Busily entering the store, Mr. Bartin replies frankly as he comes to greet us¡­ Whoa! ¡°Beard! Plump! A dwarf?!¡± ¡°What¡¯s with the suspicious character?¡± A short in stature and thick boned body, a brambly beard, plump arms. That is what you call the archetype of a dwarf before my eyes. The language center of my brain spontaneously brought forth an ERROR message. ¡°Ahaha, this girl is Mr. Haster¡¯s dear apprentice. Though she looks suspicious, she¡¯s actually an amazing magician.¡± ¡°What kinda business does a magician have at a weapon shop? Yer not expecting me to repair a pot are ya?¡± ¡°You can relax. It seems she does indeed have weapon-based business.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, nice to meet you! I¡¯m Yuuri, Haster¡¯s apprentith.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Bartin¡± My greeting was rushed, so I messed up a bit. Mr. Bartin ignored it for me, which I appreciate. ¡°Ahem, umm, right then. Today I came to ask about the difference between a sword and a large sword.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Like, see, swords and two-handed swords are both ¡°swords¡±, but the gifts for them divided, right? So about those differences, like the concrete disparities between them¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re entirely different.¡± ¡°Oh, is that right?¡± I cannot help but return a question mark to that impossible response. But I was half-expecting this answer. ¡°If a sword for one hand is held with two, does it gain more power? If a sword for two hands is swung with one, does its blade grow dull? Nay is the answer. As it is, a sword¡¯s effectiveness doesn¡¯t change. However, to hold it with two hands, the handle has to be extended. That¡¯ll change its balance too. Even the length of the blade changes it. A weapon for two hands is a weapon designed with the premise that it¡¯ll be used two-handed. A one handed one is a sword all the same, but they¡¯re still different.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­¡± My mind brings up my swordsmanship training from a while back for a bit. At the time my Master broke off a wooden sword to the size of a kitchen knife for me, which I held in two hands. At that time, could the performance of the wooden sword have changed? The length and weight were probably points of change, but¡­ That wooden sword I held with two hands, and my Master held with one¡­ It was a sword made for two hands, and held with one. Which means, as far as Alec¡¯s gift goes¡­ there still seems to be some hope. ¡°Shall I¡­ give it a try? Mr. Bartin, where would the biggest sword in this shop be?¡± ¡°Young lady, I don¡¯t think you could lift it?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be the one using it, so that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°¡­ Hm.¡± Mr. Bartin goes to the back of the store, and then returns carrying a stupidly huge large sword. ¡°This is the biggest sword I¡¯ve got. It¡¯s called Sentinel, and is the kind of sword requested.¡± ¡°It¡¯s huge?!¡± The sword¡¯s blade alone is over two meters, and the width looks to be about the same as my shoulder width. And the blade has about as much thickness as a fist?! ¡°I designed it so it could also be used as a shield, but it got too heavy, and there were very few who could handle such a quirky thing.¡± I tried to lift it to try it out, but I couldn¡¯t even get it to budge. ¡°Mr. Bartin, can you handle this thing?¡± ¡°All I can do is carry it. Moreover, I¡¯m not a swordsman.¡± ¡°Then, what about Mr. Kime? ¡°As if a beansprout like him could carry it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just rude, though, certainly, I can¡¯t carry it.¡± I tried using 1% of [body reinforcement], but I could only raise the handle up, and I was still far from lifting it. Though it¡¯s 1%, it should be close to the strength of two ordinary people¡­ Spending 2% on it, I managed to lift it. I¡¯ll try lightly swinging it around. Crack ¡°Hnghaaaaaaah!!?¡± Since I forgot to put anything in vitality, I badly sprained my wrist. The sword slipped out of my hand and magnificently destroyed the door at the entrance¡­ is something this heavy supposed to be handled by people?! ¡°Ah, So-sorry!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind the door¡­ and in fact, I¡¯m surprised that you could lift it, but¡­ are you alright, young lady?¡± ¡°Yuuri, could you not attempt the impossible!?¡± Giving it a little while, ¡°Golden Ratio¡± takes effect to heal the sprain, and I give it another try. ¡ªOutside this time. With a swoosh, swoosh I swing it around four or five times, checking the balance and such. Just by having it designed to be swung with two hands, compared to the physical strength demanded, it¡¯s easy to swing. There¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t lift with one hand if I use [body reinforcement]¡­ but this passes the limit of what people can handle. ¡°Hmm¡­ I see now.¡± I carry it back into the store, and return Sentinel to the counter. ¡°Mr. Kime, Mr. Bartin. What are those pale, worn out looks for?¡± ¡°¡­ Young lady¡­ are you a monster?¡± ¡°Pr-pretty amazing, Yuuri.¡± ¡°All I did was supplement my strength with a spell? Normally I couldn¡¯t even budge the thing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡­ I, my dignity, and lots of other things, as a man were just about blown away.¡± Next I measure Sentinel¡¯s length, width, weight, and such. Two times the length, four times the width, and five times the thickness¡­ what an unbelievable weapon this is. There¡¯s about a small child¡¯s worth of mass to it. ¡°Hum¡­ no problems with the size, huh?¡­ The rest depends on Alec¡¯s gift, I suppose?¡± ¡°Alec you say. Is he the one you¡¯re giving it to? How strong of a person is his?¡± ¡°Ahaha, he¡¯s still a child! He¡¯s twelve.¡± ¡°Yuuri, I think this is impossible you know?¡± ¡°Well I think so too. ¡°What a magician can¡¯t do, they should make up for with spells¡± is what my Master says.¡± At my words, Mr. Bartin¡¯s eyebrows fell. ¡°The swords I make are like my children. If you¡¯re gonna use it as an experiment for your spells, then¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I guess that makes sense. But if it¡¯s not this size, then¡­ no, at that point, wouldn¡¯t it be fine if I used it? I guarantee it will be used as a sword!¡± Right, we would hardly want it to become a sacrifice for an experiment and break. And putting it to sleep in the warehouse would just be sad¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve decided. I want this sword, please.¡± ¡°Well, I suppose it¡¯s better than letting it gather dust, but¡­ It¡¯s expensive you know?¡± ¡°For a while now I¡¯ve been helping my Master with [enchanting], so I¡¯m comparatively rich.¡± ¡°It¡¯s 140 gold coins though?¡± ¡°O-one hundred and fourty~?!¡± Mr. Kime is the one who gave that surprised shout. For a sword like this, isn¡¯t that a pretty reasonable amount? By the way, for the most recent ring delivery, out of 500 gold coins, 200 coins entered my purse. ¡°And then, with the cost of the door repair, it comes to 150 gold coins.¡± ¡°Business is good¡­ certainly.¡± ¡°Thank you very much as well, Mr. Kime. I got some good shopping done.¡± ¡°I-I appreciate you saying as such, but¡­ haaaa.¡± Mr. Kime appears to be unable to speak anymore. I guess he still has the monetary sensibility of a common man. Now then, on to the experiments! Chapter 17: I Tried to Verify It Chapter 17: I Tried to Verify It Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The empty room in the basement was turned into Alec¡¯s room. You¡¯re wondering if that¡¯s poor treatment of him? Well Alec didn¡¯t like sleeping in my room, and I intrude on my Master¡¯s room, so he¡¯s not allowed in there. That being the case, the room in the basement inevitably had to become his room. It¡¯s the night after I came back from my shopping. To confirm my suspicions I had to make a number of items, so I ended up working far too late into the night. It was after midnight when I finally completed it and crawled into my Master¡¯s bed. For some reason my Master, who had just been sleeping soundly for once in a long time, was bitter with me. The next morning, when I come to, my Master isn¡¯t in the bed, and the rhythmic clack, clack, sound of wood resounds. He must be having early morning training with Alec. Still in a sleepy daze, I change my clothes, go to the well and, after washing my face, use [telekinesis] to transfer water into a water jug. ¡ªIf only we could just have a water pump installed in the kitchen. The usual morning complaints crossed my mind, but today wasn¡¯t the day for that! Returning to my room, I take the prototype two-handed wooden sword from last night into my arms, and head to where my Master and Alec are. ¡°Good morning, Master, Alec.¡± ¡°Aah, g¡¯morning. You were up awfully late last night, huh?¡± ¡°Morning, Yuuri.¡±1 Alec calling to me makes me once again feel like I¡¯ve gotten a little brother and it makes me happy. In my previous life I only had a little sister. Was my master winding down the training session? He was wiping away his sweat with a towel just now. In the middle of this freezing weather, a young boy and beautiful middle aged man, naked from the waist up, wiping their sweat. This is the kind of situation that would make a woman with questionable preferences go wild. But that¡¯s not my thing, so I don¡¯t really care. I really mean that, OK? It¡¯s not like my eyes are glued to my Master and won¡¯t leave. I wouldn¡¯t¡­ ¡°Ahem. Master, are you done with your morning training?¡± ¡°Mm, well I can keep going for a little while but¡­ Alec, how¡¯re you holding up?¡± ¡°Umm, yeah, I¡¯m fine. I can keep going!¡± The young boy energetically replies. Yep, I¡¯m glad he has recovered. ¡°Then, Alec, could you try using this sword today for me?¡± ¡°What¡­ eh? Is this a two-handed sword? But I only have one hand¡­¡± ¡°Now, now, just please give me your impressions after you hold it.¡± With a timid attitude, Alec extends his hand. He¡¯s fundamentally a smart boy, but he doesn¡¯t seem to understand my characteristics yet. Does he think I¡¯d be able to hold this ridiculously heavy looking training sword without magic? ¡°Huh? It¡¯s light?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve added [weight reduction] and [toughness] to this wooden training sword! [Smashing] was left unfinished.¡± It doesn¡¯t have a blade, so I couldn¡¯t add [sharpness] like in a previous set-up. ¡°With that weight, you should be able to swing it with one arm, right Alec?¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s about as heavy as a normal short sword? It¡¯s actually a little too light for me.¡± ¡°But, that, I finally got it to where I could barely hold it with two hands¡­¡± My little brother is surprisingly sturdy, and my body is difficult to deal with, God. ¡°Again, you¡¯re wasting an advanced technique on¡­ well, whatever. Hm, then, shall we have Yuuri be your opponent this time?¡± ¡°Are you telling me to die, Master?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying anything like that. You can use [body reinforcement].¡± ¡°Are you asking Alec to die, Master?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling you to go full power!¡± Unable to comprehend our exchange, Alec stares in puzzlement. I think that facial expression would do a lot of damage to women with certain interests, so could you stop? ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ about how precisely can you apply [body reinforcement], Yuuri?¡± ¡°I can do it in 1% increments.¡± ¡°But normally the most precise would be about 5%¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m an expert.¡± ¡°Did you really just say that? Ah, well. Then first, aside from vitality, face him with the minimum 1%.¡± With 1%¡­ that¡¯s about two times the physical abilities of a regular person. Taking a stance with a training dagger, I put 1% into agility for dodging, and 2% into vitality. ¡°Alright, go.¡± Master gives some kind of spiritless starting cue. In that instant, Alec rushed forward playfully. With a huge brandish, the two-handed sword held in his right hand is swung down directly in front of me. The attack has a childish honesty to it, his swinging muscles and timing are completely visible. I take a step back to get out of his attack range¡­ eh?! With a Zushaa sound, I felt an impact on the tip of my nose. I should have dodge it completely, but that attack¡ªit went and grazed the tip of my nose. ¡°Holy what?!¡± This discomfort, I wonder what it is? Alec lets the sword flow to his side and, making a small circle, comes in for a mowing down attack. ¡ªHe wasn¡¯t moving like when he was using a short sword, was he?! Putting all my muscle behind my dagger, I strike up from below¡­ but I miss! ¡°Eh? How co¡­ uwa?!¡± Lowering my head and rolling on the ground, I barely avoid his attack. I fix my position. In retrospect, I could have done some more slashing. The arm movement¡­ bending the wrist, wrapping the blade around the body to build up power, and letting the sword tip speed around; a very distinctive swing. ¡ªSo this is the effect of the ¡°two-handed sword¡± gift?! Normally if I dodged, would he have time to adjust the sword¡¯s tip to the subtle timing difference?¡­ To get out of the way, I make a huge leap back and take some distance. Noticing where I ran to, Alec steps forward. Taking another step back, I get out of his attack range¡­ is what I thought, when he then twists his inside foot, bringing his waist and shoulder forward to lengthen his sword¡¯s reach further. ¡ªHe¡¯s got me. To think gifts were this much trouble to deal with¡­ Alec, as a beginner, can move like this?! While being amazed, I meet his sword with my dagger, and to kill the momentum I roll backwards with the blow. With both of us losing our strength, we get back in position and face each other again. ¡°Right, that¡¯s enough.¡± That¡¯s where my Master¡¯s voice of restraint came forth. ~~~*~ ¡°Alec, weren¡¯t your movements better than when you were going at it with me?¡± ¡°Yeah, this sword is really easy to use.¡± ¡°¡­ So I guess you weren¡¯t fired up because you hate Yuuri, huh.¡± ¡°Master, why would he have a motive like that? I try to treat Alec quite preciously, you know?¡± ¡°Even when you¡¯re basically sexually harassing him?¡± ¡°I do want you to treat yourself with a little more self-respect.¡± ¡°How mean?!¡± ¡ªI wanted to hear his thoughts when he caught his breath, but the words he shoots back are horrible. ¡°But still, just with it being ¡°easy to use,¡± there¡¯s such a dramatic change?¡± ¡°Master, that¡¯s the effect of the gift.¡± ¡°The gift? But I was only using the sword with one hand?¡± ¡°That interpretation is off. Alec¡¯s gift, ¡°two-handed sword talent,¡± isn¡¯t ¡°talent¡± for using a ¡°sword¡± with ¡°two hands¡±, but instead ¡°talent¡± for handling ¡°two-handed swords¡±. In other words, handling weapons of the two-handed sword genre in one hand isn¡¯t a problem. Normally they¡¯d be too heavy, so something like that would be impossible though.¡± ¡°And so you used [weight reduction] on it, huh?¡± ¡°Then, my gift is¡­ still¡­¡± ¡°Yep. Alec, your talent isn¡¯t dead yet. Your ability to protect others was just sleeping.¡± Overcome with emotion, Alec looks at his right hand. Those eyes of his quickly fill with tears¡­ ¡°Thank, you¡­ Yuuri, thank¡­ yo¡­¡± Like that he propped himself on his knees, and cried for a while. ~~~*~ ¡°But still, that was well noticed.¡± With Alec calmed down, while we were all having lunch together, my Master complimented me. ¡°Well, I had a horrible experience once due to the interpretation of gifts after all¡­ by the way, Alec. Please don¡¯t get so close.¡± ¡°Why not? I like being next to you, Yuuri.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not used to you yet!¡± ¡°So get used to me?¡± ¡°As if I can do that on command¡ª?!¡± Since then, Alec has been somewhat over-familiar with me. I¡¯m fine if I¡¯m the one doing the touching, but I¡¯m still averse to being touched or approached. He himself says that my Master is ¡°Master¡± and I¡¯m his ¡°benefactor¡± it seems¡­ He¡¯s a Master to both of us, so it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand his feelings. ¡°Although, I still only have one wooden training sword after all¡ª¡° ¡°We also need to prepare a real sword for Alec.¡± ¡°Using a [weight reduction] magic circle is well suited for iron after all. Well, I have a prospect for the main material ready.¡± ¡°That stupidly huge plate of iron from yesterday?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called Sentinel.¡± ¡°Can that thing even be lifted? It didn¡¯t seem like it would even budge.¡± ¡°It might be impossible right now. [Weight reduction] will need to be a little more compact for that.¡± It¡¯s a bit too heavy, so the size of the magic circle would be larger than the blade. That¡¯s the problem that emerged. Currently, carving [weight reduction] into a blade the size of a short sword, I can make the [weight reduction] down to the level of a dagger. That¡¯s the how far I¡¯ve got it right now. ¡°Right now [weight reduction] is only useful for someone like me; ¡®a weakling who can¡¯t even hold a short sword,¡¯ so such people can hold a ¡®short sword reduced to the weight of a dagger,¡¯ and that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Yuuri, show me that magic circle later. I might just be able to come up with something.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, Master, you¡¯re the one who even carved circles on the temples of my glasses, huh.¡± ¡°Are you gonna make my sword for me?¡± ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t even checked the possibilities, so please wait for it, but don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡± With your eyes shining like that, how could I give it anything less than my all? This is how I completed both my ¡°weapon development for my little brother,¡± and ¡°recapturing my Master¡± missions at the same time. Alec, I¡¯m still not conceding my Master to you, you know¡­? Chapter 18: Master, There’s Trouble Chapter 18: Master, There¡¯s Trouble Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Several days since then. I was in my room developing ¡°The Second¡± weapon. With my Master¡¯s cooperation, the magic circle size problem was easily resolved. What is this? Within the crevices of the magic circle, you can build in another interconnected magic circle and amplify it?! Lately there have been a lot of times when I think that my Master is more of a cheat character than me! That¡¯s how Sentinel was completed, but I¡¯m not handing it over yet. I want to boil down this research subject a little bit more. ¡°Ugh, It looks like adding three [enchantments] really is the limit. I guess the problem really is because the material is just ordinary iron?¡± After [enchanting] the three [weight reduction], [toughness], and [sharpness] (incomplete) in, the material doesn¡¯t have enough strength left, and I can¡¯t enhance its power any further. Well, when it comes to Sentinel, its mass alone is already a weapon though¡­ ¡°Anyway, I want to give him a sword that could hunt a dragon or something¡ª, kinda dark swordsman-y? Maybe we could build a cannon into his left arm too.¡± While memories of a dark fantasy masterpiece come to mind, I perform the ¡°second¡± [enchantment]. Over here I have some room area-wise, but¡­ when I tried to perform a fourth one, a crack appeared on the surface. It looks like it really is impossible with iron. ¡°Though four would go just fine if it was silver. If I do that, then the strength of the material itself would be¡­¡± Shall I design along the iron weapon route? ~*~ That night, together with the fierce neighing of a horse, Mr. Kime came to the cottage. ¡°Mr. Haster, are you here?!¡± ¡°Kime? You surprised me. What¡¯s got you so panicked?¡± ¡°It looks like little Marle from Mr. Halt¡¯s place hasn¡¯t come home yet.¡± ¡°At this time?!¡± It¡¯s already quite late at night. By the way, I wonder who Mr. Halt and Marle are? Mr. Kime, seeming to turn back in a hurry, is called to a stop. ¡°Mr. Kime, please calm down. Isn¡¯t your horse worn out? Moreover, I can¡¯t help out if I don¡¯t understand the situation.¡± ¡°Urk, I guess you¡¯re right¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put some tea on, so come on in.¡± ¡°Except I¡¯ll be the one getting the tea ready¡­¡± Shut up, Alec. That¡¯s the underling¡¯s job. ¡°So, what all happened?¡± ¡°In the afternoon, Marle said she was going to pick hawthorn berries, and left the village. With a child¡¯s legs, we thought she couldn¡¯t go far, so we weren¡¯t particularly worried.¡± ¡°Then, she didn¡¯t return, like you said.¡± ¡°The village¡¯s surroundings are mapped out, and there aren¡¯t many beasts. There shouldn¡¯t have been any danger.¡± ¡°Who is this Marle you¡¯re talking about?¡± I¡¯m not acquainted, so I have to ask in detail. ¡°The village representative, basically the head of the village, Mr. Halt¡¯s only daughter. She¡¯s a girl who just turned 8 this year¡­ by the way, who are you?¡± ¡°¡­ Now that you mention it, this is the first time I¡¯ve shown you my face, isn¡¯t it Mr. Kime? I am Yuuri.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ No way. Yer a beauty?¡± What kind of face did you think I would have?! ¡°Leaving that aside¡­ certainly an 8 year old child would have a tough time getting far in a mountain or a forest.¡± ¡°Later, the whole village came out to search and got some results. Next to the hawthorn trees we found the footprints of a small child and two adults.¡± ¡°Adults? Was she being protected by someone?¡± ¡°Since those footprints looked like they headed to this mountain, I thought about that, and looked back in the village, but¡­¡± I see, so he thought my Master was protecting her, and rushed over here to the cottage? ¡°It¡¯s just, since only the two adult footprints were headed towards the mountain, I thought something was suspicious, and hurried over here to make sure of the circumstances.¡± ¡°Wait, if there were two adults there, then shouldn¡¯t you have realized there¡¯s no way it could be Master?!¡± ¡°Mr. Gusta also heads this way often, so¡­¡± Except Mr. Gusta was probably at the village. He¡¯s getting all mixed up. ¡°Carrying off a child like that¡­ could they be after a ransom?¡± ¡°Mareba village is certainly prosperous, but it¡¯s probably not the place to go looking for a ransom. Maybe they¡¯re looking to sell her into slavery?¡­ Even then, she might go for 30 gold coins at best?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ I heard from my Dad that there¡¯s talk of thieves that came this way.¡± ¡°What, no way!¡± In response to Alec¡¯s shocking revelation, Mr. Kime suddenly stands up. My Master urged him to continue in a heavy voice. ¡°Tell us more.¡± ¡°¡­ If I remember it right; to the north, in the country of Novelius, they were running wild, but they were beaten back by the knights, and he said the survivors crossed the border. Since this mountain is to the north, he warned me that it could be dangerous.¡± ¡°So they didn¡¯t take them all out back in their home country¡­? They just left the job incomplete!¡± ¡°We also left Comb as soon as the snow stopped because he said we wanted to trade before the thieves come.¡± ¡°The merchant network is really helpful at times like this.¡± Mr. Kime expresses his indignation, and in contrast my Master shows admiration. ¡°I see, so there were two people¡­?¡± ¡°Did you figure something out?¡± ¡°Yeah, what do you think the best way to make money in this area is?¡± ¡°Defeat you, Master.¡± ¡°Could you stop?¡± I think that is, without a doubt, the best way to make money, but there¡¯s an unusual amount of risk to it. ¡°I think that is the most profitable thing though. Second best would be¡­ attack the village?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Mareba is a small village with a population to the degree of 60 people, yet their economic scope far exceeds that.¡± ¡°Thanks to you, Mr. Haster.¡± Mr. Kime expresses words of appreciation to my Master. Keep the compliments coming please? ¡°Removing women and the elderly from the equation, the young men number somewhere around 20 people. And furthermore, I think only around half of that number can actually fight?¡± ¡°And if there are only about 10 people, then the village¡¯s assets are theirs for the taking, is what you¡¯re saying?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know how many bandits there are, but¡­ you think there are a sufficient number of them?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­ then those two were scouts.¡± So they were hiding in the bushes observing the village, and along came an attractive girl picking berries who ran into them, is what you¡¯re saying? If they killed her, it would leave traces behind, and they couldn¡¯t just let her go, so they abducted her then. ¡°Even without a body or bloodstains, since a child went missing, security is going to get tighter. I¡¯m afraid that a raid may happen soon.¡± ¡°But, it¡¯s not like we have confirmed that the thieves came all the way out here, right?¡± ¡°We have confirmed that there are people who¡¯ll abduct a child around. It¡¯s best to be vigilant.¡± ¡°W-we have to get back to the village quick¡­!¡± Mr. Kime pales and stands up. I know how you feel, but don¡¯t you know your horse can¡¯t go any further? ¡°We¡¯ll have to give them the rundown. I¡¯ll escort you. You should let your horse rest here.¡± My Master also stands up and takes his mantle in hand. ¡°Yuuri, this cottage probably isn¡¯t safe either. In times of emergency¡­¡± ¡°Yessir, I will blow them away!¡± ¡°Wrong. Hole yourself up in the basement for a while. If you seal the entrance with your [clay wall], they shouldn¡¯t be able to get in.¡± My Master tiredly corrects my overly energetic idea. And like that, he lifts Mr. Kime under his arm, and runs off into the sky. I¡¯m jealous of that arm strength¡­ ~*~ Some time passed after my Master left. Aside from Alec being strangely fidgety, it was peaceful inside the cottage. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You can¡¯t seem to calm down.¡± ¡°What¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s, there¡¯s no way I can keep calm after hearing there are thieves around.¡± ¡°Well, they are dangerous people after all.¡± Although, if I just have to buy time, then that¡¯s no problem. In the worst case, if I throw Alec in the basement, seal the entrance, and remove the Sealing Magic Mirror¡­1 I can make the thieves go mad and stop them here. However, that is a method I would like to avoid¡­ ¡°Now, don¡¯t be so afraid, just leave everything to your big sis here!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m most worried about.¡± ¡°How rude¡­ it seems you¡¯ll need some punishment later.¡± It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand his feelings making him so restless. Alec took up the sword to ¡°protect.¡± And something he should protect appeared right in front of him, so he probably wants to dash out of here right now. But that¡¯s to make up for the parents he couldn¡¯t protect. With Alec as he is now, the hostages would just increase. ¡°Anyway, calm down, I¡¯ll put some tea on for you.¡± ¡°Could you make sure it¡¯s only tea? Don¡¯t mix anything weird into it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gonna do anything like that. Stop being rude.¡± ¡°You did when we first met though.¡± ¡°Master had wise words for this; ¡°Don¡¯t dig up the past¡± he said.¡± Yup, those are good words. ¡°What does that have to do with being a magician?¡± ¡°He also said this; ¡°That¡¯s one thing, this is another¡±.¡± As expected from my Master. To think he presented me with instructions back then that would become necessary in the future. I get up from my seat to prepare the tea, take water from the water jug¡­ huh? ¡°Alec, there¡¯s no water left, so I¡¯m gonna go draw some. Don¡¯t let anyone suspicious in.¡± ¡°Then you won¡¯t be able to come back in, Yuuri.¡± ¡°What the hell are you saying, you little brat!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the littler one though!¡± We throw some conventional insults at each other, and I go to draw some water. Well, hopefully that distracted him a bit? ¡ªwhen I came back, Alec was stuck next to the window. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Yuuri, isn¡¯t there something shining over there?¡± At the end of Alec¡¯s pointing finger is¡­ there¡¯s definitely something like a lamp light flickering in the middle of the mountain that I can see. ¡°Certainly¡­ maybe the villagers started hunting on the mountain?¡± ¡°But it¡¯s clearly higher up than this cottage. If they were hunting in the mountain, they should have come here first.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. We should let Master know about this¡­¡± Though I say that, if we take the horse to the village it¡¯ll be two hours¡­ I could probably make it in one by flying, but when considering that it¡¯s night time, I guess it¡¯ll actually end up being two hours? It¡¯s about 20 kilometers to the village. Due to the slope of the mountain and bad roads, it¡¯ll absolutely end up taking time. If I use [body strengthening], I¡¯m not sure, but I might just barely make it within the effect time¡­ ¡°¡­ I¡¯m gonna go take a look!¡± ¡°Ah, HEY?!¡± While I was being indecisive, Alec took that chance and leaped out of the cottage. Moreover, he¡¯s gripping his sword in his hand. When did he grab that?! ¡°Aaah jeez, that arrogant twerp!¡± I understood. At the very least, we didn¡¯t have time to go and let my Master know. And while we¡¯re here, the girl named Marle is facing some horrible situation. So I¡¯m sure¡­ I should have been able to stop him, but I guess I purposely let him go. Chapter 19: Awakening the Cheats Chapter 19: Awakening the Cheats Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: This time I¡¯m experimenting with increasing the number of viewpoint changes. It will go Yuuri ¡ú Alec ¡ú Bandit ¡ú Alec ¡ú Yuuri. --------------------------------------------------------------- I chased after Alec in a hurry¡­ and then went back to the cottage. After all, I need to deliver his weapon to him! I spring into my room and pull out Sentinel. And then I leave a note for my Master to keep him from worrying in case he comes back. Alec said he saw a strange light in the middle of the mountain, and then ran off after it. I¡¯m going to find him ¡ªYuuri This way Alec should be the only one getting scolded. Perfect! Next, I put out the fire place so that we don¡¯t have any accidents, and block the windows and entrance with [clay walls] so burglars can¡¯t get in. Just doing that much work ended up costing me 5 minutes. It definitely wouldn¡¯t be good to get any later of a start than this. Let¡¯s hurry and chase after him. ~*~ (Alec¡¯s point of view) I carefully advance into the forest. I should arrive at the place where I saw the light soon. It doesn¡¯t look like Yuuri was motivated to come along, but when I hear something like a little girl was caught by thieves, how could I possibly stay put? ¡ª I can faintly hear someone¡¯s voice where I¡¯m headed. I¡¯m getting close. I lower my posture, silence my footsteps, and move in closer. Against a steep cliff in the middle of the mountain, there¡¯s a cave that I think was originally a monster¡¯s den. In front of it, in a slightly open area, there¡¯s a bunch of guys surrounding a bonfire. ¡°You, what¡¯re you thinking bringing a brat like that back?¡± ¡°Is this guy some kinda pedo?! Guhyahyahya!¡± ¡°Shuddup! If we sell ¡®er as a slave, we¡¯ll make some profit!¡± ¡°Would¡¯a been better if you killed her back there!¡± ¡°Ye ain¡¯t wrong! Be no trouble that way.¡± The guys are gulping down cups of alcohol, and even boisterously blowing off steam. This is dangerous. It looks like these guys weren¡¯t as prudent as my Master said. I¡¯m not worried about anything like me being discovered. Anyway, it looks like the girl is still fine. The number of people¡­ is surprisingly large, with 13 that I can see. But if they¡¯re gonna attack the village, won¡¯t there be a little more? ¡°Shiiit, there¡¯s nothin¡¯ to go wit the alcohol¡­ maybe harassin¡¯ the brat¡¯ll make me feel better.¡± ¡°hey, hey, won¡¯t that lower her value?¡± ¡°Won¡¯ change much, wit a brat like that!¡± One of them loosens his belt while heading towards the cave¡ªthis is bad! It doesn¡¯t look like I have time for Yuuri to catch up, or to wait for my Master. Shit, I¡¯ll surprise attack one or two of them, and after that I¡¯ll have to persevere¡­ ¡°Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!¡± I pulled out my sword, made up my mind, and charged. ~*~ (Bandit¡¯s point of view) ¡°Keh, what¡¯s with this brat¡­ suddenly coming out swinging his sword around!?¡± A village brat? Anyway, since he made the first move and came to us, the archers on the cliff will be taking aim. There was a guard watching, so what was he doin¡¯ slackin¡¯ off?! Well, he looks more or less trained, but he¡¯s still a child. He ain¡¯t a problem for us. ¡°Id hurds! Id hurds, dabbit!¡± ¡°You idiot! Don¡¯t get done in by a brat!¡± ¡­ The first dummy that was hit is the exception, the fucker. ¡°I couldn¡¯t avoid it because I was in the middle of takin¡¯ off my clothes!¡± ¡°You shitty brat¡­ don¡¯t think a bastard like you is gonna get away alive!¡± ¡°Mga, bastaaard! I¡¯ll cut yer limbs off, PUNK!¡± My subordinates mercilessly surround the brat. The brat¡¯s also moving about defensively, but it¡¯s only a matter of time. ¡°Shit, you guys¡­ uwa?! My Master already found this place¡­ so if you don¡¯t run away soon, don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be let off easy!¡± ¡°Aaah? Ooo, scary! So when¡¯s he comin¡¯, this master o¡¯ yers?¡± ¡°Dun give us them worthless threats! Think we¡¯d back off with that?!¡± He¡¯s desperately evading, but¡­ ah, thinks he can drive us off with words? As if we¡¯d fall for that kind of threat. At any rate, the brat probably entered the mountain tryin¡¯ to be the hero and found us here by chance. There¡¯s no way we can send him back alive like this. ¡°Kill that brat. Don¡¯t even think about keeping him alive to sell.¡± ¡°O¡¯ course!¡± ¡°HEHE, we gonna kill you, we gonna kill yooou!¡± Soon the encirclement will narrow. If the brat tries to run, he¡¯ll be the perfect distance for the guys behind us. It¡¯s over¡ªwhen I thought that, a voice sounded from the forest. ¡°Alec, grab the sword!¡± Along with the voice¡­ a massive sword flew this way. ~*~ (Alec¡¯s point of view) This looks bad. I can¡¯t run away. When I was giving up, at that moment¡ªa massive sword was thrust into the ground at my feet. ¡°Alec, grab the sword!¡± I didn¡¯t have time to think. Anyway, I reflexively take the sword¡¯s grip in hand. I didn¡¯t even have the spare time to blurt out a doubtful ¡°can I lift this?¡± toward the overly massive sword. I was convinced that if I wanted to live, then this was my only chance. ¡ªClick, something in my body just felt like it fit. I instinctively realize that my footwork, stance, grip on my sword, etc. were all wrong up until now. The sudden appearance of the massive sword took the wind out of the sails of the bandits, and using that opening¡­ I use the huge sword to beat the crap outta them! With a bwoof sound beating out the rhythm, the upper halves of the thieves were blown away. This is [weight reduction]¡¯s effect? My astonishment comes forward at the weight being reduced to what I can easily swing around with one hand. Making it lighter didn¡¯t cause its mass to disappear at all. To keep the power from disappearing after I swing, I continue swinging it around this way. Since I wasn¡¯t used to the sword, my position broke; in that moment, I guess they took the opening? The bandits come jumping towards me. ¡°How dare you, asshole!¡± ¡°Dun mess with us, bastard!¡± Two of them came forward. Using the momentum of Sentinel missing its target, I twist my body and send the sword out to my side to mow them down. With the overwhelming difference in timing, my blade arrived earlier. Sentinel mows them down, splitting them both into two equal parts. This unbelievable scene is way too outlandish¡­ With the unrealistic scene of a boy, just a little over 10, swinging around a large sword that far exceeds his own height, the bandits faltered. ¡°Keh, bastard! Why the hell are you spacin¡¯ out?! Don¡¯t go FREAKIN¡¯ OUT about a huge weapon!¡± The boss-like guy in the back barks that out. I wonder if he feels¡­ that at this rate his subordinates are gonna run away? ¡°That huge weapon will leave him wide open; get in close to him! Think of him like he¡¯s using a spear!¡± ¡°Y-yeah!¡± Do they even have experience fighting against spears? Another three step forward. But a sword and a spear are very different. Especially since Sentinel here¡¯s [weight reduction] makes it light enough for a one-handed swordsman. Primarily the unbelievable swinging speed and trajectory. They have to slip into the defensive gaps of such a strangely complex flashing blade. For the brazenly amateur bandits, that¡¯s just too much to handle. In the blink of an eye, those three were cut down. ¡­ Amazing, I didn¡¯t think there would be this much of a difference just by holding this sword. So this is the power of a gift? What the? I feel like I can hear vomiting and weeping sounds from the forest behind me, but that¡¯s just my imagination, right? Running my sight around to check on the remaining six, I saw the boss-like guy swing his hand downward. What¡¯s he¡ªbefore I can finish that thought, a rain of arrows comes flying towards me?! ¡°Uh, waa?!¡± I immediately used Sentinel as a shield, but my right shoulder took an arrow. The arrow penetrated my right shoulder¡­ it¡¯s in pretty deep. ¡°Oooch!¡± My hand slips from the handle. I only have the one hand, so this wound is a huge problem! The arrows descend towards me. Five remaining people are jumping at me from the right and left. ¡°Urgh!¡± I use my left arm to pull sentinel out, and hide beneath it to dodge the arrows. But I guess¡­ this is it? At that moment¡ª ~*~ (Yuuri¡¯s point of view) ¡°Uuugwweeeee¡± Yeah, I certainly figured he¡¯d probably kill people¡­ but I didn¡¯t think it would be that gruesome. ¡ªThis is worse than mincing them, Alec! If they take a direct hit from sentinel, they just end up as ground meat. The blade has enough power behind it to send limbs flying at the slightest touch. It¡¯s pretty amazing when gift holders use weapons they¡¯re suited for. Seeing their numbers cut in half in an instant, I guess I should have been relieved. But I couldn¡¯t stomach it very well. While I was giving the nearby plants some nutrition, Alec was shot by an arrow! Alec took the attack with his right shoulder, and now he¡¯s underneath sentinel¡­ Seeing that, there was a snap, and it felt like something broke in my head. ¡ªYou pests! What do you think you¡¯re doing to my little brother?! Since I don¡¯t know where the shooters are, I use ¡°appraisal¡± on the entire space in front of me, and check the location of the enemies. That action gave birth to an unexpected effect. The enemies¡¯ movements¡­ their lines of sight, the location of rocks and grass, and even the flow of the air; I could grasp everything. ¡°Ugh, up until now I¡¯ve only targeted items or living things with ¡®appraisal¡¯. So this is what happens when I use it on a ¡°space¡±¡­?¡± With the sudden and massive influx of information, my brain screams¡ªbut see if I care! I endure the squealing of the headache with ¡°adaptability¡±. Within the air of my magic¡¯s territory, my perception spreads out as far as I can accurately understand. I start up two of the [heat rays] I used to blow away the roof a while back, and activate five [heat balls] in parallel. Normally magicians can invoke multiples of one spell at a time, but they can¡¯t activate two different spells simultaneously. First is the necessity of creating the image. And then the power to draw the magic circle. Processing those things in parallel can¡¯t be done. But right now I can do that. With ¡°peerless magic¡±, I can process spells in parallel. My perception with ¡°appraisal¡± rapidly expands, and the phenomenon I want to manifest comes to my mind. Two types of spells, seven attacks. The image of those coming together into one event. ¡°Blow¡­ A-WAAAAAAAAAY!!¡± Two [heat rays] are released with my scream. Up on the cliff, in the two places with archers, their footholds evaporate. The sections of cliff that were gouged away melt down, bubbling and flowing like lava. At the sudden fierce light, the bandits pull away. ¡ªBut I¡¯m not forgiving you, you know? I¡¯ll have you atone for hurting my boy! Facing toward the five remaining bandits other than the boss, I let my simultaneously activated ¡°heat balls¡± fly. These [heat balls] are different from the usual ones we use for heating; they¡¯re sweetened with a higher temperature and compressed. To make sure they miss Alec, they¡¯re also flying fast enough that they won¡¯t have time to react. The [heat balls] burn the bandits¡¯ bodies, and when they reach inside the bandits, they decompress explosively. With a sound similar to that of putting a drop of water into heated oil, the bandits explode. Ah, that¡¯s dangerous by the way, so don¡¯t try that at home, alright? I exterminated them without asking any questions. In the blink of an eye, seven lives were taken away. With that I put [wind blades] in my hands and slowly approached Alec. ~*~ ¡°Are you alright, Alec?¡± ¡°Ah, yeah¡­¡± I move sentinel out of the way, and help him up by his left arm. The arrow in his right shoulder is piercing through it, so it looks like it¡¯ll be easy to take out, but there will be bleeding, so it would probably be best to leave it in for now. I didn¡¯t have time to grab healing potions or the like after all. ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to grab any medicine to treat you, so endure it for now please. Well, you get what you deserve I think.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ that¡¯s, well, fine I guess.¡± ¡°Well then, I¡¯ve got someone to talk to over there.¡± Judging that Alec isn¡¯t in any immediate danger, I head towards the boss-looking guy. ¡°Y-you¡ª¡° ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you some things.¡± ¡°You think I¡¯d ta¡ªGYAAaaa?!¡± When I noticed he was giving me lip, I let a [wind blade] go and severed his left arm. ¡°Answer while you still have your limbs. On to what I want to ask.¡± ¡°AAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAaaaaaahh, my arm, MY AAAAARRRRRmmmAAAaa!¡± ¡°Now then, do you have any other companions around? Where¡¯s the girl you abducted? Just so you know¡­ I¡¯m pretty pissed right now, alright?¡± ¡°HEEE! My arm¡­ arm¡­¡± He was responding slowly, so I amputated his ankle too. ¡°AAHH! HigyAAaaaaaaa?!¡± ¡°My temper is also running short. I think it would be best if you answer quickly.¡± ¡°My companions are all¡­ already gone! You evaporated them all! The brat is in the cave over there! Now help me¡ªGebhu!¡± I heard what I wanted to hear, so I used a [wind blade] to remove his neck and shut him up. This was the first time I ¡°murdered¡± someone. Chapter 20: Rescue Chapter 20: Rescue Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: This is the completion of the first arc. --------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Yuuri, that was nasty¡­¡± ¡°You have no right to say that, Alec, you mincemeat maker.¡± I make sure there are no longer enemies in our surroundings, and give Alec some first aid. Ripping the end of my skirt to make a simple bandage, I then use ¡°appraisal¡± to make sure the arrow didn¡¯t hit any important blood vessels or nerves. After cutting the end of the arrow off using magic, I pulled the arrow out quickly, and stopped the bleeding with the bandage. ¡°Ghk! Be¡­ jeez, be a little gentler!¡± ¡°When you get a girlfriend, go ahead and tell her that.¡± When I finished the immediate treatment, I released ¡°appraisal¡±. If I used it for to long, even with ¡°adaptability¡±, I feel like I¡¯ll go crazy. It seems like the length I can sustain it is shorter than [body reinforcement]. Maybe about five minutes? ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t we need to secure Marle? Can you walk?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll manage. I can¡¯t hold sentinel though.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re done if your right arm gets hurt somewhere, huh¡­? Guess we¡¯ll have to think of countermeasures for this, too.¡± I carry sentinel with both hands, and we enter the cave. I wonder if the bandits had to work really hard to make this place easy to live in? The space was lit up with torches, and the footing was evenly leveled. ¡°Hum, even though this is ¡®that kind of place,¡¯ they at least cared about the amenities, eh?¡± ¡°Ahmenetees?¡± ¡°It means the things that make it livable, and comfortable.¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ this looks like it used to be some beast¡¯s nest, but it isn¡¯t smelly.¡± Smelly? I thought back to when I got close to the boss, but¡­ ¡°Those guys were pretty smelly though.¡± ¡°You think so? I didn¡¯t really notice, but¡­ well, I was kinda desperate to stay alive.¡± ¡°I¡¯d heard that women are more sensitive to smells, but does this mean it¡¯s really true?¡± My feminine qualities¡­ are increasing. Anyhow my old body basically became a mess of ground meats, and I¡¯ve given up on becoming male, but still. ¡°This cave is surprisingly deep.¡± ¡°¡ªHyaa!?¡± Alec¡¯s mutter was replied to with a stiff scream. Is there someone in the back, in the dark area? ¡°Is that you, Marle? I am Haster¡¯s apprentice, Yuuri. I¡¯ve come to save you.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not gonna hurt you, so don¡¯t be afraid, alright?¡± At the end of the cave, chained to a metal pole in the ground, there was the figure of a shackled young girl. ¡°S-save¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah, so you can relax now, see? Since we took care of those bad jerks!¡± The ghastly appearance of Alec, with his injured right shoulder and no left arm, anxiously talks to her. I think that will actually make her more scared. ¡°Do you know where the keys to your shackles are?¡± ¡°¡­ Iunno.¡± ¡°Hum, I¡¯ll go look¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t leave me!¡± He¡¯s the long awaited rescuer to her. She¡¯s probably frightened that he¡¯ll part from her again. ¡°Then, Alec, please stay with her. I¡¯ll go search for the key¡­ ah.¡± ¡°Got it, but what¡¯s the ¡°ah¡± about?!¡± I was being thoughtless¡­ there were a lot of people I ¡°evaporated¡± out there. What will we do if one of those guys was holding the key? ¡°A-actually, let¡¯s go ahead and break the shackles. It¡¯s not like we need the key!¡± ¡°Oh, come to think of it¡­ how many people did you evaporate?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on the past!¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­?¡± ¡®What¡¯s wrong?¡¯ Marle seemed to be asking as she tilted her head to the side without saying anything. Hnngh, this girl is CUTE! Ahem. Anyway, first we use sentinel to cut the chain, then move to a brighter place. After that, I use all the strength of my [telekinesis] to tear the shackles off. I gave special attention to avoid carelessly hurting Marle¡¯s legs. To keep from breaking the hinge, my focus is on the key area, slowly pulling it apart¡­ there. ¡°Well? Are you injured, or does it hurt anywhere?¡± ¡°Nope, I¡¯m fine. Thank you, Miss.¡± After giving me a proper thanks, she clings to Alec. My oh my. Without thinking, I give him what my Master calls a ¡°villainous face¡±, a mischievous smile spreading from ear to ear. ¡°What¡¯s that look for?!¡± ¡°Oh~no~, no reason at all?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give me that!¡± ¡°I¡¯m really looking forward to ten years from now. Take good care of your girlfriend, alright? When I call her a girlfriend, Marle gets strangely red. Hohoo, even at this age, she¡¯s very much a ¡°girl¡±. While having our silly chat, we were going to head back to the cottage when suddenly before us¡­ a Great Demon God stood in our path. ~*~ ¡°¡­ Well? What¡¯s your excuse?¡± My Master towered over me imposingly. The vein lines on his forehead are so charming. I¡¯m back at the cottage, being forced to sit in seiza position. Yep. ¡°A-Alec was¡­¡± ¡°Does my senior apprentice intend to push responsibility on to her junior?¡± ¡°No¡­ that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I ran off first, it was my fault.¡± ¡°Naturally, I¡¯ll have you reflect on your reckless behavior. But, it was supposed to be Yuuri¡¯s duty to stop you.¡± ¡°Yessir, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Haaa, well since the result is that you saved the girl in the nick of time, though I don¡¯t like how you did it¡­ thoroughly reflect on this, and be careful from now on.¡± I have no excuses to give. What my Master says is always right. I wanted¡­ to test out sentinel¡®s performance¡­ and even if that wasn¡¯t my intent, I still used Alec¡¯s behavior as an excuse. I¡¯m certain that my Master figured that out. Since I had just gotten a little better with magic, I got carried away and ended up putting Alec in danger. As tears come to my eyes and I clench my fists, my Master casts a disgusted look at me while treating Alec¡¯s shoulder. ¡ªI disgusted him. Those genuine feelings made tears drip down my face. I can¡¯t stop them. In my previous life, I wouldn¡¯t have been crying this much though¡­ ¡°I¡¯m, sor, ry¡± I let out another apology. In response to me, my Master tenderly hugs my head, and strokes my hair. No matter how foolish I was, my Master comforted me, letting me know he wouldn¡¯t abandon me. In my previous life, even my family half-abandoned me. ¡°I was really worried.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ thank you, very much.¡± Burying head in my Master¡¯s chest, I make a complicated expression. Kind of happy, kind of sad, my heart was filled with those strange feelings. ¡°Could you two stick to flirting to when you¡¯re all alone maybe¡ª?¡± And it would have been perfect if Alec wasn¡¯t there being bothered about whether he should be watching or not! Hey, Alec, hasn¡¯t Marle been stuck to your back for a while now too? ¡°Alec, you should be reflecting too. If Yuuri hadn¡¯t sent up those stupidly huge fireworks, I still wouldn¡¯t know where you were.¡± That¡¯s right, I let my [heat ray] wildly fly toward the top of the cliff when I released it. It evaporated the archers, gouged out the cliff, and then the beam of light flew off into the sky; that resulted in letting my Master know where we were. Eh? Of course, that was all in my calculations. ¡°Fufufu, exactly as I calculated¡­¡± ¡°Liar.¡± ¡°And the truth is?¡± ¡°I totally snapped, and let out as much power as I could without collapsing the cave.¡± I thought the charged particle cannon was overdoing it. If the melted lava blocked the entrance, I¡¯m not sure what would have happened¡­ ¡°Oh, but Master. We need to hurry and let Mr. Halt know that Marle is alright.¡± ¡°Uh, that¡¯s right¡­ although I have Alec¡¯s treatment to do¡­¡± ¡°I can see Mama and Papa?¡± ¡°Wait just a little longer. It¡¯s because I got injured¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not your fault, mister!¡± Swinging both of her arms around, Marle sticks up for Alec. That¡¯s so cute. Certainly, by seeing how horrible Alec¡¯s wounds appear, it looks like he was caught up in a fierce battle to come and save Marle; like a prince on a white horse¡­ I guess? ¡°If Alec and Master can¡¯t move, then I¡¯ll have to take her there.¡± ¡°Just so you know, she won¡¯t be able to handle your high speed maneuvering, got it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to do that!?¡± Using [body reinforcement] while holding a little girl; I don¡¯t even need to think about that. It¡¯s way too dangerous! ¡°If we start riding the horse down to the village now, we¡¯ll be there by morning. I¡¯d like to send her there faster, but¡­¡± ¡°After I¡¯m finished with the treatment, I wouldn¡¯t mind flying her back, though¡­¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you worn out from flying to and fro without rest, Master? Even more so in this darkness.¡± ¡°I certainly wouldn¡¯t want to carelessly drop our important guest. It¡¯s our only option. Yuuri, I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to ask why you¡¯re saying ¡°It¡¯s our only option¡± about this in detail later.¡± ¡°Do you really wanna know?¡± ¡°No, not really.¡± And so when I delivered her to Mr. Halt¡¯s place, they cried tears of joy. Naturally. When I stated the role Alec played in the rescue, even the people who resisted accepting him couldn¡¯t keep their mouths shut, and his position in the village was established. However, many people were still hesitant to step forward as foster parents, and in the end he got a deal on a hut at the edge of the village where he started living alone. Chapter 21: Let’s Play the Lottery Chapter 21: Let¡¯s Play the Lottery 2nd Act: A Family Trip Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Two years have passed since then. A lot of stuff has happened. A whole lot¡­ Let¡¯s start with Alec. The plan was for only one month, but after staying at the cottage for about half a year, he left. I tried to stop him saying, ¡°you can keep staying here,¡± but he firmly asserted that he wanted to live alone, and left. I wonder, does he hate me? Not to brag, but since I used to be a man, I¡¯m very considerate you know? At night, when Alec would disappear into the back of the forest and come back in sage mode, I was considerate enough to give him a refreshing, steaming towel! To which my Master cautioned me, with a hollow gaze, saying, ¡°give him a break¡­¡± One year later, he went to the city of Cornus (a place about two weeks of travel to the west), and while having his one-armed handicap, became the youngest to acquire the title of ¡®Knight¡¯ in a year. Then he came back to Mareba as a guardsman. I hear he was given preferential treatment because of his connection to my Master, and using that connection, they dispatched him here to reel Master in or something? It seems there was malicious gossip of it being a de facto release, but the one in question appeared very satisfied to be back. Also, he got a lot taller. And cheekier too. His physique has gotten better too, and as a young knight with a promising future, it seems he¡¯s quite popular all over. Marle has many rivals. Speaking of Marle, she¡¯s 10 now¡­ and uh¡­ she has surpassed me in height (bitter tears). When Alec came back to the village, she hugged him while crying; it was a very heartwarming sight in the middle of the village. My Master, once I turned 15, announced his retirement. He conceded the title of Wind along with all magic equipment production to me, and is living his days in peace. I¡¯m not as dexterous as my Master, but with the help of a makeshift breakthrough discovery, I¡¯m continuing magic equipment production without problems. Has he visibly aged a bit in these two years? I¡¯m a little worried that his health will break down. At one point he said, ¡°I¡¯ve even got a grandson, I guess all I need now is a cat to keep on my lap?¡± so I put cat ears on and jumped in his lap; he gave me a thorough petting. My Master and I were both satisfied with it, so the result was just fine. It felt good in a bit of a naughtyway, but that¡¯s a secret. When Mr. Gusta saw us, he went back to the village with eyes like those of a dead fish. Later, the name ¡°Cat Eared Meat Slave Loving Sage¡± spread throughout the village. That bastard! I¡¯ve changed too, you know? For starters, I turned 15, which is big. The reason being, the age of adulthood is 15 in this world! I can drink alcohol now! I got smashed from half a cup¡­ this body is just too weak. I can get married now! I can¡¯t touch anyone other than my Master and Alec¡­ though I can talk to people normally now. Huh? It feels like I haven¡¯t changed very much? I received my Master¡¯s title, and the worldwide image of the name ¡°Yuuri¡± changed from, ¡°The devil who destroyed the trade city of Lilith¡± to, ¡°The Sage of Wind¡¯s Apprentice¡±. Could this be what my Master was aiming for? As for my abilities, my magic control power increased. I can even fly through the air now, and a breakthrough discovery on the difficulty of using [body reinforcement] is also, accordingly¡­ being worked on. I¡¯m still bad at carving circles into the magic tools, but by burning it in like I did with the bridge, I¡¯m mass producing ¡°Rings of Mental Resistance¡±. I¡¯m not distributing simple magic weapons. After discussing it with my Master, we judged that such goods would, after all, be too dangerous. Also, my body is, as usual, very feeble. When I die, it¡¯s usually because of a failed spell, so in most cases ¡°Peerless Magic¡± isn¡¯t disabled. On the plus side, my MAG and MND grew to 1851.1 This isn¡¯t within the margin of error anymore. ~*~ And so, today I¡¯m going shopping in Mareba. Walking through the market while planning tonight¡¯s menu, I almost feel like a young wife. Eheheheh. ¡°And that¡¯s why, Mr. butcher over there, I¡¯d like that boar meat please.¡± ¡°Who the hell are you calling a butcher?! Moreover, we just hunted this, so it¡¯s not for sale yet!¡± ¡°We have an agreement with the butcher, so that would be a bit of a problem for us.¡± I gently tease Alec and Mr. Kime, who just came back from pest hunting. Well, except I really do want the meat. ¡°Ugh, when will it be available in the store?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see, it needs to be sold, drained of blood, and processed, so¡­ the earliest would be tomorrow I guess?¡± ¡°I really can¡¯t wait for that long. I wish I didn¡¯t have to, but I¡¯ll let you off the hook this time.¡± ¡°Yuuri, now you¡¯re just being ridiculous. Why would we need you to let us off the hook¡­?¡± ¡°Because Master needs his nutrition.¡± Although, what I want is protein. I¡¯ve heard that pork is the secret to longevity. ¡°Oh well. I suppose I¡¯ll give up on the boar and go with pork. Alec, you¡¯re welcome to join us for dinner later.¡± ¡°You say that like it¡¯s easy, but you¡¯re far enough away that I can¡¯t just come and go as I please, you know?¡± ¡°Master misses you too, so at least stop by on occasion.¡± ¡°Urk¡­ fine, I get it. Then I¡¯ll come by for dinner when I get a chance.¡± ¡°Come tonight. Tonight.¡± Alec gives a reluctant feeling, but affirmative nod. Even though he¡¯s glad to eat his big sister¡¯s home cooking¡­ he¡¯s not very honest with himself. ¡°By the way, Mr. Kime, why are you sighing?¡± ¡°Well, I was just thinking Marle is gonna be in a bad mood because of this.¡± ¡°Aah, lately her gaze toward me has changed from a ¡°the girl who helped me¡± to ¡°a worthy rival¡± kind of feeling.¡± ¡°Certainly, if it¡¯s you and Marle, your physical abilities would make for a good match against each other.¡± ¡°¡­ You stinking oblivious type.¡± I never thought I would see an oblivious protagonist type of person with my own eyes. At this rate I might become a capture target, so I send a knee kick to the space between his legs, and then quickly leave the scene. ¡ªThud. ¡°Hugwo?!¡± Alec sinks to the ground in an [orz] pose. That wouldn¡¯t pay off for Marle either. ~*~ ¡°And that¡¯s why I ended up coming here, Mr. greengrocer. I¡¯m seems you¡¯re purposely showing the appeal of how fresh your soil is!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want your business! Go away?!¡± The middle-aged man at the greengrocer gives me a huge welcome as soon as I arrive. ¡°But sir, even sticking these uncultivated vegetables over here in the dirt, that¡¯s just poor form, you know?¡± ¡°Those get transported along with the dirt to the specialty vendors. Because they last longer that way.¡± ¡°Ooh, very smart.¡± ¡°Right?¡± ¡°Well, if it was me, then I¡¯d freeze them to make it last even longer.¡± ¡°DAMMIT! Would you stop harassing me?!¡± I try to mess with the greengrocer¡¯s quick-tempered owner in a somewhat friendly way. Well, if his products were bad, then I wouldn¡¯t come here in the first place. Because I¡¯m the type of Japanese person that keeps quiet and complains about it later. ¡°Now, while the other customers are drawing away in disgust, I¡¯d like these carrots and potatoes please. And these onions too.¡± ¡°Yuuri, I¡¯m begging you, please buy from me normally¡­¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t handle getting mixed in with a crowd of people!¡± There are no bargain sales in this world, but if there were, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to charge into those crowds. I was thinking of making pot-au-feu, but¡­ curry would be nostalgic. I wonder if there¡¯s any curry powder in this world? ¡°Sir, do you know of a dish called curry?¡± ¡°Kur-ree? Never heard of it. Where¡¯s that dish from?¡± ¡°Probably from the south¡­ it¡¯s a kind of dish that uses a lot of spices.¡± ¡°Lots of spices, huh? That¡¯s some extravagant cooking then.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t see a lot of that around here. Pepper and the like are pretty expensive.¡± I wonder what region it would be in? If I had cumin, turmeric, coriander, etc., then it would be interesting to look into making it myself. ¡°Come to think of it, Yuuri, here. Right now there¡¯s a trading merchant holding a lottery in town.¡± ¡°A lottery?¡± ¡°Yeah, you always buy a lot from here, so this is on the house.¡± ¡°That¡¯s only because I¡¯m bad at growing root vegetables. Though I do manage green onions on my own.¡± Some other things I¡¯ve planted in the cottage¡¯s home garden(?) are tomatoes and eggplants. Well, I guess I¡¯ll give it a shot. I¡¯ll show off the good luck I¡¯ve saved up since reincarnating into this other world! ~*~ And so, I¡¯m at the lottery venue. Surprisingly, it¡¯s a garapon2 lottery. I didn¡¯t know they had those here. The organizer is the merchant who brought the vegetables here. He doesn¡¯t seem very familiar with the village. Because it seems he doesn¡¯t know who I am? ¡°After that I bought some pork, and now I have lottery tickets for two chances. Since there¡¯s the luck parameter, I can cheat at this using [body reinforcement]!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re talking about young lady, but stop it.¡± ¡°Well, even if I can, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to. By the way, what¡¯s up with that 1st prize¡­¡± ¡°Oh, did this one catch your interest? You¡¯ve got a good eye, young lady!¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s, uhh¡± ¡°This is something well known amongst adventurers, a ¡°Ring of Mental Resistance (Enhanced)¡±! This beauty is worth an astounding 120 gold coins at market value!¡± I know that! I made one three days ago! Aaah, if I get 1st prize, I wonder how much my Master and Alec will make fun of me¡­? In which case, I¡¯ll aim for 2nd¡­ huh? ¡°That¡­ 2nd¡­¡± ¡°What, so you were aiming for this one? I get it, you know? It¡¯s a portrait (with signature) of a knight who¡¯s a hot topic in the city right now! This image of knight Alec is the work of the famous artist, Vepal!¡± ¡°What is this sad feeling¡­?¡± ¡°Currently a popular product in the City of Cornus, it¡¯s valued at 10 gold coins, and is expected to go up in price!¡± Why would I need Alec¡¯s portrait?! In which case¡­ 3rd is vouchers for a famous inn in the country of Novelius. 4th is a year¡¯s supply of wheat. 5th is assorted seasonings. 6th is what would be considered a loss; a bundle of herbs. ¡°Well, whatever. I¡¯ll aim for 4th or 5th then. 3rd is¡­ it¡¯s a bit too far away.¡± ¡°Righty-o, you¡¯ve got two turns! Good luck!¡± ¡°Alright, here I go!¡± ¡ªgaragara, garagara¡­ pon, rattle. ¡°Oh, OOHHH?!¡± And then, the prize bell rang twice. Chapter 22: Dinner Meeting Chapter 22: Dinner Meeting Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Well then, Alec is coming by today, so let¡¯s make a little extra food for dinner. Except how much should I make? Alec is a growing boy, so I¡¯m not sure how much to adjust it. At times like these, I know the perfect thing: ¡°nabe¡±!1 That way it¡¯s OK to eat just the things you like in just the amount you want. If there¡¯s not enough, then all sorts of noodles can be added to it. I planned to make pot-au-feu today, but with these ingredients we can go in a different direction. First, I fill an earthenware pot with water, and use a [heat ball] to boil it. Then I peel the skin off of and cut the carrots, potatoes, onions, white cabbage, and celery into large pieces before adding them to the pot and heating them through. Then I cut some of the pork fat off, and add it to the water in place of a soup stock. While the fat is melting, I grab four tomatoes from a stalk in our garden, peel the skin and crush them roughly, then add them to the pot as well. Add salt and pepper for flavor, then while skimming off the top, let it simmer and then I just have to wait! ¡­ I¡¯d really like some consomme mix right now. Our lack of seasonings is a serious problem. Now before I finish I just need to dribble some beaten eggs from above, mix them in, and my tomato soup-like nabe is complete. ~*~ While waiting for dinner time, my Master is lazily relaxing on the sofa while browsing through history books. Come to think of it, he¡¯s been refraining from using the pipe he likes so much ever since I started living here, hasn¡¯t he? Maybe he¡¯s worried about the second-hand smoke bothering me? I sit down next to my Master and, while occasionally checking on the nabe, we read books together. ¡ªThis is nice, slowly passing the time like this. I place my head on my Master¡¯s arm, and relax in that somewhat poorly mannered position. And my Master, without shifting his gaze to me, gently strokes my head, 2, 3 times, while he continues reading. Aah, I¡¯m getting kinda sleep¡­ slee¡­ py¡ªzzz. ~*~ knock, knock, knock! ¡°Hwa?!¡± Ha! Did I fall asleep? Moreover, right now, did I wake up in my Master¡¯s lap?! I¡¯m using his lap as a pillow?! For whatever reason I fell asleep; well done, me! Wait, I didn¡¯t mean that! ¡°Looks like Alec is here.¡± After I jumped awake, my Master gave my head one more stroke before going to greet our guests. ¡°Good evenin¡¯! As usual, Master is the one answering the door. Yuuri, could you stop slacking off so much?¡± ¡°P-pardon me for intruding.¡± ¡°Hm. Marle came along with you, eh?¡± ¡°Yes, sir Alec told me, ¡°Since Yuuri is the one cooking, she¡¯ll probably make some sketchy dish that everyone can eat¡±¡­ I hope I¡¯m not bothering you?¡± ¡°Not at all, the more the merrier.¡± ¡°Mister big-shot brought his girlfriend along. How I envy you¡­¡± I take Marle¡¯s cloak for her and go to hang it up. What about Alec¡¯s? He can take care of it himself! ¡°Even though I¡¯m the one who was invited by Yuuri¡­¡± ¡°Guys who have girlfriends are the enemy.¡± ¡°I-I-I, I¡¯m not¡­ well, umm¡­¡± ¡°It seems our meal is prepared too, so you can take a seat. There¡¯s been a nice aroma coming from it for a while, and my stomach can¡¯t wait.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring it out in just a moment, go ahead, have a seat!¡± In a rush, I arrange the table with the tomato nabe as the main course, alongside bread and a salad. My Master gets distilled liquor. Alec looked like he wanted some, but since he¡¯s underage, that¡¯s a no-can-do. In place of it, I treat him to some grape juice with sugar mixed in. ¡°Well then¡­ go ahead and dig in!¡± ~*~ ¡°Bwaahaahaahahahaha!¡± ¡°Puft, that¡¯s¡­ Miss Yuuri, that¡¯s unbelievable.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­¡± Alec burst out laughing, and Marle couldn¡¯t completely stop herself from laughing. Master, isn¡¯t laughing to the point of convulsions a little weird? ¡ªI won two prizes, one of which is Alec¡¯s portrait! ¡°This is the work of a famous artist, so it looks like I can sell it for quite a bit though?¡± ¡°Even so, a painting of Alec of all things?¡± ¡°Well, I did do something kinda showy after all. Doing it with one arm on top of that made me famous.¡± ¡°Rumors of ¡°The One-Armed Heavy Swordsman¡± even reached Mareba. You¡¯ve done well.¡± At my Master¡¯s praise, Alec showed a rare moment of bashfulness. Well, all that aside¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll give this portrait to you, Marle. If I hold onto it, I¡¯ll probably just end up using it as a target for my spells.¡± ¡°Eh? Can I really have it?! Ah, I mean no, I couldn¡¯t possibly take something so expensive.¡± For a moment her face was colored with happiness; it¡¯s all right to be upfront about it. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. He said it was worth about 10 gold coins. That¡¯s only one month of Alec¡¯s payment.¡± After Alec left the cottage, he passed about half a year in training. During that time, he took charge of crafting rings for me, and as the price for that I gave him 10 gold coins per month. A person living alone doesn¡¯t usually spend much money, but in Alec¡¯s case he spent most of the day at the cottage. Aside from dinner and utility expenses, he hardly used any, so it was kinda excessive. Still, my Master, with his broken sense of monetary value, wanted to hand Alec 100 gold coins a month, which I desperately put a stop to. Since having that huge an amount of money would actually cause problems; you know, like cause some not-so-good people to come knocking? By the way, most of our income goes to me right now. My Master takes 20% as the idea man, and I get 80%. Though there¡¯s not much to spend it on¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s forget about the painting for a moment. What should I do with this?¡± Saying that, I waved around 3 nights of luxury inn accommodation vouchers. Except they¡¯re for a neighboring country. We also have to pay our own travel expenses. Indeed, what should I do with this? ¡°An inn at Solkalis, in Novelius, eh¡­? From here that would take roughly two weeks.¡± ¡°The stay is only for three nights. At least it says here that families of up to four can stay though.¡± ¡°A round trip would be four weeks, so a whole month? It really is too far away. Guess I¡¯ll dispose of them?¡± ¡°Ah, speaking of Solkalis¡­ isn¡¯t that place famous for their hot springs?¡± ¡ª perk At those two words from Marle, my lean towards disposal of the tickets suddenly reverses course. She said hot springs! I wonder if they have open air ones? It would be even better if it¡¯s mixed bathing! Well, I don¡¯t have an easily excited rod right now though. ¡°Master, let¡¯s go.¡± (Prompt decision) ¡°Well that was sudden. Eh, I¡¯ve got nothing but time on my hands, so I don¡¯t really mind though.¡± ¡°That means two more can stay. Alec, you¡¯re coming too.¡± ¡°Wha, you¡¯re just gonna order me?!¡± Fuhuhu, I once had a dream of a ¡°family bath¡± that was shot down, but it looks like the day it will be realized is at hand. ¡°I¡¯m in the service of the court, so I can¡¯t just take a vacation all of a¡­¡± ¡°Try applying for it by saying you¡¯ll be escorting me. If you tell them that Master is coming along too, it¡¯s sure to go through.¡± After all, Mareba never had a dispatched knight before, and the only reason he was dispatched here was to try and reel my Master in. And it¡¯s not just my Master either; offers for me to become a court official have been coming lately. If I don¡¯t use this pointless influence now, then when will I?! ¡°Yuuri, you shouldn¡¯t be asking so much of him. Alec is already independent of us, and¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go! No matter how hard it is, I¡¯ll make it go through!¡± When my Master chides me while looking lonely, Alec reacts strongly. He probably couldn¡¯t handle the one who taught him about magic, and his master in swordsmanship, looking like that. Oops, I forgot one person. ¡°Marle, would you like to come with us too?¡± ¡°W-would that be all right?!¡± ¡°Ah, but it¡¯ll be a problem if you don¡¯t have a guard¡­¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s up to your parents. If you talk to them and they give you permission to come along, then we wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± Come to think of it, I¡¯m a Sage now. And since Alec got the ranking of a knight, we¡¯ll probably make it safer than an incompetent guard would. ¡°But is it really all right for me to go with you¡­?¡± ¡°Marle, come here for a minute.¡± I took the still hesitant Marle to a place a little ways away from there. She¡¯s still only 10 years old, but considering how thick-headed Alec is, wouldn¡¯t it be best to give them a little push now? ¡°Listen closely now. It¡¯s a hot spring. In other words, it¡¯s possible that you¡¯ll be able to bathe with Alec.¡± ¡°W-w-w-w-what!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a nice rap beat you¡¯ve got going¡­ but if you want to seduce that dullard who hasn¡¯t noticed your feelings in these two years, then that¡¯s how far you¡¯ll have to push!¡± ¡°Is that really all right? You wouldn¡¯t, umm, think that¡¯s a shameful thing to do?¡± ¡°I do have some personal experience with seduction you know?¡± Since I did seduce a whole town five years ago after all. ¡°I-I understand. I¡¯ll give it my very best!¡± ¡°Indeed, I expect a good fight from you.¡± Marle makes a small pumped-up pose. Indeed, the role of the older sister really is to help with her little brother¡¯s love life! Now we just need the permission of her parents, but¡­ Since Mr. Halt is covertly aiming for Alec, I¡¯m sure that will turn out fine. ¡°And so, it has been declared that Marle is participating.¡± ¡°Why does it feel like you¡¯re scheming all of a sudden?¡± ¡°With Yuuri, even if she¡¯s plotting something, it¡¯s sure to fail, Master.¡± ¡°Quiet, you.¡± ¡ª Drop Since Alec was being rude, I tossed some hot vegetables into his pants to shut him up. ¡°NUAAaaaaAAAAaaaaa?!¡± ¡°Yuuri, you shouldn¡¯t play with your food.¡± ¡°Yes, Master¡± ¡°Awawawa, have to get it out quickly, b-b-but.¡± You¡¯re free to stick your hand in and take it out for him you know? I warmly watch over the panicking girlfriend, Marle, with a mischievous smile on my face. ¡°Well then, tomorrow I¡¯ll go get permission from your parents, after that we¡¯ll need to prepare for the trip, and¡­ let¡¯s see, how about we leave in a week?¡± ¡°Roger that, Master.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Whatever, could you hurry and help get these out¡ª?!¡± And like that, it turned into a family trip we were taking. Chapter 23: Let’s Get a Job Chapter 23: Let¡¯s Get a Job Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Today is the day of our departure! I¡¯m really excited about my first family trip. To the point where I¡¯m waving about the hem of the dress I¡¯m wearing for the trip, and even spinning around? ¡°You¡¯re pretty lively, Yuuri. Are you that excited?¡± ¡°Yuuri barely ever leaves this cottage after all. She¡¯s normally filled with curiosity by nature, so it¡¯s no wonder she¡¯s frolicking about.¡± ¡°Miss Yuuri, you¡¯re so cute.¡± ¡°When Yuuri is this lively, she¡¯s definitely gonna mess up somewhere¡­¡± ¡°Shut it, Alec!¡± I stick my finger out at Alec, who¡¯s being disrespectful again, as a warning, and then check our luggage. Change of clothes, check. Wallet, check. Weapons, check¡­ ¡°Yuuri, leave that here.¡± ¡°Eh? Weapons are important though?¡± The one my Master is pointing out is the ¡°second¡± weapon I developed, the ¡°Cleaver¡±.1 With a full length exceeding 2 meters, and with a mass of iron¡ªway too huge a mass of iron¡ªfixed to the end of the handle, it¡¯s¡­ a war hammer. Originally, rather than my weight, this lump of metal far exceeded my master¡¯s weight. There are four enchantments, [weight reduction], [toughness], [acceleration], and [smashing] (incomplete), applied to it. This mass of iron was constructed by layers with silver in the middle, and iron covering it. It¡¯s a test project which increases the number of enchantments that can be applied. Even though it¡¯s light, with its super acceleration it can beat the snot out of things, so I feel that it turned into a super weapon. It¡¯s just, the way it looks is¡­ the absurdity of a nearly 100 kilogram mass of iron is not stylish in the least. ¡°Well, if you insist. Then I¡¯ll just go with this one.¡± ¡°I would very much appreciate that. There¡¯s just too much wrong with seeing a little girl walking around carrying such a heavyweight object.¡± That said, what I have equipped is a mantle with [maintenance] and [connection] on it, and a bracelet with [body reinforcement ¨C strength] on it. These were developed as countermeasures to deal with the unwieldy aspects of [body reinforcement]. With the mantle I took advantage of the huge surface area to fulfill the role of a supplementary magic power tank. The bracelet is an auxiliary tool to easily multitask [body reinforcement], which can¡¯t be multi-cast. Even so, right now I¡¯m the only one who can use it through parallel activation of spells. And then, a bow and quiver. This is the ¡°third¡± that I developed in these two years. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get going.¡± ¡°Yeah¡ª!¡± According to our plan, we¡¯ll take our carriage from the cottage to Mareba. At Mareba, we¡¯ll leave our carriage in Mr. Halt¡¯s care, and switch over to a carriage heading to Comb that we¡¯ll meet up with. And then, from Comb we¡¯ll switch to a carriage heading to Novelius, and after bumping along for 10 days, we should arrive at Solkalis. Along the way we¡¯ll pass through the border checkpoint, but my Master and Alec have passes, so there are no problems. For the record, I have one too. ¡°Now we just need to pray that Yuuri doesn¡¯t mess anything up!¡± ¡°Alec, you¡¯re not getting lunch.¡± ~*~ ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really screwed up.¡± My shoulders drop in dejection. After 3 days, we got to the City of Comb. I¡¯ve been in this world for 5 years, but this is the first big city I¡¯ve seen other than Lilith. There are bustling crowds of people, stalls, and various sounds and smells. Nobody would blame me for being somewhat excited by it all¡­ if only my wallet wasn¡¯t stolen. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t notice it either, so there¡¯s not much we could do. Fortunately there wasn¡¯t much money in it.¡± ¡°Master, ya know 100 gold coins is what most people would call a large amount in this world?¡± Since it¡¯s a trip, we took a fair sum along with us. Now the only money we have is the 10 gold coins that Alec is carrying. With this much we can only barely scrape by going there and coming back. ¡°If I must, then I can sell this ring¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to leave that as a last resort.¡± Before we left, just in case, everyone was given a ring of mental resistance (improved). For if I carelessly remove my glasses. ¡°Should I go back and get more? I should be able to get there and back by tomorrow.¡± ¡°No, that would be if you used [body reinforcement] to go all out on flying.¡± I can control the [flight] spell now, so I can now move with a full agility reinforcement. And if I do that on the ground, then I end up destroying the ground with every step. With the effect of my mantle, I should have enough for a round trip. ¡°Well, there¡¯s no need to overdo it by going back and getting more. Having things like this happen is the real thrill of traveling.¡± My Master finds this preferable to having his house blown away¡­ is what he muttered under his breath. Please don¡¯t open old wounds! When I stared at my Master with teary eyes, he averted his gaze. ¡°You¡¯re taking this comfortably, Master. Anyway, what we need is money, so¡­ then, after I submit our theft report, want to try finding a job?¡± ¡°A job?¡± Marle tilts her head as she asks that. I would also like to hear more about this. ¡°In a city like this, there are all sorts of jobs around. A lot of those are run by the guys at the adventurer¡¯s guild or other such places, though¡­¡± ¡°Of course, that would be the place we can trust the most, but registration and the like will be a pain. Since we¡¯re headed to Novelius, I¡¯ll see if I can find us some freelance work.¡± ¡°Thanks for that, Alec.¡± ¡°I think registering would be just fine though. Is registration that big a deal?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯d be taking jobs very often. Things like the annual fee, and renewal are annoying.¡± ¡°Moreover, Yuuri, you¡¯re ¡°A Great Sage¡± and I¡¯m a ¡°Former Sage.¡±¡± The Sage of Wind becoming an adventurer¡­ that does sound like a pain. Mostly psychologically. ¡°At this time of year, there should be some escort jobs. If we play our cards right, we could be hired on as luggage carriers for some adventurers headed to Novelius.¡± ¡°Whoa, could this mean that Alec is¡­ reliable?¡± ¡°What the hell?! I¡¯ve always been reliable!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, sir Alec is cool!¡± When I unintentionally let what I was really thinking slip, not just Alec, but even Marle came at me for it. I¡¯ve failed. I just can¡¯t get into a good rhythm today. ¡°But getting a job as an escort probably wouldn¡¯t work.¡± I state my rough opinion after taking one look at our equipment. Alec and my Master are only armed with long swords on their waists. I have a bow, and Marle looks exactly like a village girl. Alec aside, my Master only has a normal shirt and pants on this time. He¡¯s not wearing his usual magician¡¯s robe. We don¡¯t have nearly enough visual impact. Maybe I really should have brought ¡°Cleaver¡± along? ¡°What, I don¡¯t mind being a porter. I do have confidence in my strength.¡± ¡°Me too, me too.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any such confidence.¡± ¡°Excuse me, I don¡¯t either¡­¡± ¡°There probably aren¡¯t many fellows who would expect even children to be escorts or luggage carriers for them. In exchange for our help would could ask them to let you tag along with us.¡± ¡°Are there no subjugation-ish requests? If there are, then we could immediate finish it, and earn money too, right?¡± ¡°The bulk of things like that are managed by the guild. The knights also go around for who knows how many of them, but I think they hardly ever have ordinary people handle those requests.¡± That makes sense. That would be asking any random passerby to go kill monsters for them. But, if that¡¯s the case, does that mean there¡¯s barely anything I can do? ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It may surprise you, but I actually enjoy these situations, you know?¡± ¡°This reminds me of when I traveled to Cornus.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll watch Yuuri and Marle. Alec, I¡¯m leaving it all in your hands.¡± ¡°You can count on me.¡± He gives the kind of crisp salute you would expect of an active knight. He has become a sir. Ah, Marle is in a daze. ~*~ For now, we got a place at an inn, and after finishing a meal we listened to the results of today¡¯s search. By the way, we got two rooms for two people each, and we split the rooms with me and my Master in one, and Marle and Alec in the other. You¡¯re wondering why we didn¡¯t split them into men and women? Because I can¡¯t sleep if I¡¯m not next to my Master! ¡°So, Alec, how did you do?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been hired on as porters for the escorts of a merchant headed to Solkalis. Taking the expenses of bringing two children along out of our compensation, one person gets 30 silver coins per day.¡± ¡°Hm, so with two people for ten days, we¡¯ll get 6 gold coins then?¡± ¡°They said each of us will need to handle cargo around 40 kilograms. Can you manage that, Master?¡± ¡°I can handle that much easily.¡± My Master¡¯s muscle strength isn¡¯t what you¡¯d expect from a magician. Alec¡¯s muscles are also abnormally strong for his age. Apparently that¡¯s because he¡¯s always training to be able to hold two-handed swords with one hand. By the way, where both Alec and my Master stand in terms of strength is roughly two times that of an ordinary person. ¡°The name of the merchant is Mr. Elric. He, along with his wife and a servant are the three people being escorted. It looks like they¡¯ll be taking two carriages to Solkalis.¡± ¡°Two carriages? That¡¯s quite a lot for a single person business.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard there are a lot of volcanoes in the Solkalis area, and various veins of metal. For the people gathering up there, they¡¯ll need food and water supplies, and they probably go through mining tools pretty quickly too.¡± ¡°Yes, the cargo is mainly fresh food, including vegetables. The rest is a bunch of supplementary shovels and pickaxes, and then some gold coins, probably for buying ore.¡± Veins of metal¡­ ah! Dammit, if I just bought a ring, [enchanted] it and sold it, wouldn¡¯t that have earned us plenty of money?! ¡ªI can¡¯t tell them I messed up again, so maybe I¡¯ll just keep quiet about this little matter? And so, I alone had a cold sweat running down my back. ¡°The escorts coming with are two parties named ¡°Forest Bear¡± and ¡°Vulture¡¯s Nest¡±. Each has five people, so there¡¯s ten of them.¡± ¡°How¡¯s their record?¡± ¡°Forest Bear is still a newer party, with about two years of experience. Vulture¡¯s Nest is about mid-level I guess? They¡¯ve been associated with the guild for nearly ten years. Neither of them have any remarkable achievements.¡± ¡°But ten years you say?¡­ Then do they have a lot of trust from the guild?¡± ¡°The Vultures have some, or maybe not too much? They don¡¯t seem bad, but when they¡¯ve had some drinks, it seems they¡¯ll cause problems on occasion. For the Bears, ¡°they¡¯re powerful, but they¡¯re still inexperienced¡± is what they said.¡± ¡°You even investigated the history of the escorts, Alec?¡± For people who aren¡¯t affiliated with the guild, like us, to be hired on as porters, he had to do something like negotiating with the merchant directly. Fortunately, Alec¡¯s face was recognized by Mr. Elric, and he seemed satisfied with that. After that he looked up the escort party names, and even asked about their reputations¡­ he really used his time well. ¡°Since it wasn¡¯t a request through the guild, it would be dangerous if we didn¡¯t at least investigate the past our fellow travelers. Master, and Yuuri, it looks like you didn¡¯t think about that?¡± ¡°Shuddup.¡± ¡°No, I certainly didn¡¯t consider it.¡± ¡°Sir Alec, you¡¯re amazing.¡± Ugggh, stock in Alec is soaring¡­ well that¡¯s just fine then. ¡°What we¡¯re carrying is the water and food of the adventurers. With ten days worth for ten people, we¡¯ll each end up carrying seventy days worth of meals,2 so it¡¯ll be quite a large amount.¡± ¡°That sounds reasonable. If we¡¯re transporting their preserved food, then the load will lighten as we go on. As a luggage carrier, I appreciate that.¡± ¡°Instead of that, we may have to carry any materials we pick up along the way, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be that easy for us.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only so much they can pick up.¡± ¡°We depart tomorrow morning at 8. We¡¯ll need to turn in early today.¡± And so, we went to bed early for our one night in Comb. I wanted¡­ to go sightseeing. Chapter 24: Let’s Form a Brigade Chapter 24: Let¡¯s Form a Brigade Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Dawn, the next morning. In front of the already open gate, the merchant and company are forming up, arranging themselves into a column. Alec guided us to the group that are waiting outside the column. ¡°Good morning. Ah, was everyone waiting for us? My deepest apologies for being late.¡± ¡°G¡¯morning, Mr. Alec. Nah, it¡¯s not the time we agreed on yet, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Good morning, Mr. Elric. You have my gratitude for indulging me on my request for this trip.¡± My Master and Alec exchange pleasantries. I also stick my head out from behind my Master and give a nod. Marle gives a quick bow. ¡°This girl is Yuuri. The girl over here is Marle. They¡¯re not very strong, so could you let them ride in the carriage?¡± ¡°I see, they would certainly have a tough time with a a long journey at their age. Very well, they¡¯ll have to ride along with the luggage, but will that be alright?¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfectly fine, and we appreciate it.¡± ¡°Hey hey, an old geezer, a one-armed guy and two brats? Can they even manage as our porters?¡± ¡ª Haaah? The one who interrupted my Master and Mr. Elric¡¯s conversation was an armed man who I don¡¯t think is even 20 years old and his group. By their looks, they seem more or less experienced, but only to the degree that Alec, without his large sword, could handle them. And a group like that calling my Master an old geezer¡­ ¡°No problem, I¡¯m confident in my strength. And even if I only have one arm, it¡¯ll be just fine if I carry the luggage on my back.¡± ¡°I also may be getting old, but I still have confidence in my strength. With only this much luggage I¡¯ve determined that there won¡¯t be a problem. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re gonna fight, right?¡± ¡°¡­ Tsk, just don¡¯t get in our way.¡± ¡°¡­ Yuuri, put that away.¡± I was secretly preparing a [wind blade] inside my mantle behind my Master, but I¡¯ve been found out. I reluctantly release the spell. Then a well-built man around 30 with his group come this way. They¡¯ve got a kind of pleasant atmosphere? ¡°Don¡¯t worry over it so much. It¡¯ll be fine as long as they take good care of our luggage.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you indiscriminately snap at everything around you that they say you guys are still young.¡± ¡°Sh-shuddup!¡± I see, the ones who came by first to give us trouble are ¡°Forest Bear¡±, and the guys who came after that are ¡°Vulture¡¯s Nest¡± then. The Bear company will have to stay in line, those greenhorns! ¡°Suddenly getting a [wind blade] ready, you¡¯ll have to stay in line just as much as them, you know, Yuuri?¡± ¡°Wh-what might you be talking about¡ª?¡± Even Alec had me figured out? ¡°But you know, Alec, it doesn¡¯t look like he cared about you at all¡­ could it be that you aren¡¯t as well known as they say?¡± ¡°That¡¯s cause I only became a knight just a while ago¡­ and also, the spectacle of having one arm is the only topic they ever bring up, so my face isn¡¯t as well known as the rumors of me are.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you managed to get us hired by Mr. Elric.¡± ¡°That is because he just happened to know about me apparently. He said he came to see me at a competition.¡± By competition, he must mean the knight school¡¯s fighting tournament to decide their ranking order. Did the gift holding Alec steamroll the competition to victory in spite of having only one arm or something? ¡°You, the hell are you whispering about?! If you¡¯re ready, then let¡¯s get a move on already!¡± ¡°Haaa, he¡¯s really such a¡­ sorry, that¡¯s our luggage over there. You¡¯re our lifelines, so we¡¯re really counting on you.¡± The man from the Vultures was pointing to a bulging bag filled to the brim, which was placed on the ground. Preserved foods and water are probably the only things stuffed in there. ¡°Are you alright holding that sword? If it¡¯s too heavy, I could take care of it.¡± ¡°Nah, this is just one for self defense, so it¡¯s not gonna add much weight. I¡¯m just fine.¡± ¡°I see, you look like you train quite a bit. To the point where having you hold our luggage is a waste.¡± ¡°We have no intention of becoming adventurers. I¡¯m Ha¡­ aah, err¡­ Albine, is my name. A pleasure to work with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Arim. I¡¯m the acting leader of team ¡°Vulture¡¯s Nest¡±. Over there is the head of ¡°Forest Bear,¡± Jack.¡± With a big smile, he sticks his right hand out. How very sociable. And maybe my Master was trying to avoid causing any more trouble? Instead of giving the name Haster, he called himself by his surname of Albine. It¡¯s not an unusual name, so it doesn¡¯t look like anyone found out. ¡°I¡¯m Alec. A pleasure!¡± Since Alec is an absolute idiot, he gave his real name out. ¡°I-I¡¯m Marle. It¡¯s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡± ¡°¡­ Yuuri.¡± Marle gave her name timidly, and I gave mine in an unfriendly manner. My introduction was immature? I¡¯m really shy, so I would prefer that you cut me some slack! Translated by Soyokaze Translations ~*~ Moving along with the flow of people through the open gate, we left the city. We¡¯re a total of 17 travelers. The merchant, Mr. Elric. His wife, Mrs. Leche. The servant, Pele. From Forest Bear: The leader and great sword user, Mr. Jack. The shield holder supporting Mr. Jack, Mr. Kale. The scout, Mr. Bhav. The healer, Miss Bella. The magician, Mr. Oreas. From Vulture¡¯s Nest: The leader and ax user, Mr. Arim. The full-body-armored war hammer user, Mr. Ivan. The dual sword wielding scout, Mr. Prokel. The healer, Mr. Mac. The magician, Mr. Baram. These 13, along with us 4; my Master, Alec, me, and Marle, all together the 17 of us started our journey. There are two carriages, so with the vanguard carriage are the heavily experienced people of Vulture¡¯s Nest, and the quick-witted Alec. The carriage¡¯s driver is Mr. Elric. And also, since Mr. Elric being by himself would probably be lonely, he has Marle riding along as a talking partner. With the back carriage is the less experienced Forest Bear, and my Master. The drivers are the servant, Mr. Pele, and the wife, Mrs. Leche. And I¡¯m also riding along. I couldn¡¯t be much of a talking partner though¡­ Outside the city, a wide country scene was spread out, and being my first time seeing such a majestic view, I raised my voice in wonder. I can¡¯t see wheat fields continuing all the way to the horizon in Japan, after all. I got out of the carriage way too many times and fell down, but each time my Master supported me, and I avoided any difficulties. Seeing me as a bare-faced country bumpkin, Mrs. Leche watched me with a warm smile, and Mr. Jack clicked his tongue in annoyance. The highway is paved, so the carriages could fly along smoothly, but with the escorts being on foot, they wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up. As such, the carriages are moving forward slowly to match the pace of the escorts. I guess the distance we travel in a day will be roughly 40 kilometers at best? ¡°Sorry about my little one who can¡¯t calm down.¡± ¡°No no, it¡¯s fun watching her, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Next to the carriage, my Master is gossiping with Mrs. Leche. ¡°Hmph, well excuse me for not calming down. This is patrol duty, I¡¯m on patrol!¡± ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re saying that¡¯s patrol duty, even though you¡¯ve already fallen down three times?¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s because I didn¡¯t have enough momentum! I won¡¯t make the same mistake again, so there won¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°Could you guys just shut up and walk?¡± ¡°Hmhmm, Mast¡­ Albine¡¯s job is carrying luggage, and he¡¯s doing his job perfectly fine.¡± ¡°You little¡ª¡± ¡°Stop picking fights with a child, Jack.¡± A certain boorish man throws cold water on the fun conversation we¡¯re having. Guys like this talk clumsily normally, and only speak smoothly when they¡¯re being messed with. Miss Bella mediated for us, but I don¡¯t think I can come to like this man. Come to think of it, wasn¡¯t Miss Bella a healer¡­? ¡ªHealing magic. If I had that, then I probably could have healed Alec¡¯s arm. Neither my Master nor I had knowledge of it, so we couldn¡¯t do anything about it back then. ¡°¡­ Umm, Miss Bella, you can use healing magic, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I can only use a bit of it though.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s alright with you, could you¡­ teach me about it?¡± ¡°Sure, but¡­ can you use magic?¡± I peeked in my Master¡¯s direction, but he just replied with a gentle shrug. I¡¯m sure knows that I wanted to learn healing magic. ¡°Yes, just a little bit though.¡± ¡°Why all of a sudden?¡± ¡°That¡¯s, well¡­¡± I glance towards the group with the front carriage. Miss Bella probably guessed from where I was looking. That it had to do with Alec not having a left arm. ¡°I see, it¡¯s about him. Is he your big brother?¡± ¡°Not really. But it ended up being something like that.¡± ¡°¡­ It¡¯s an art that relies on your disposition, so you may not be able to use it you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care, please teach me.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll take some time out for you after dinner.¡± I stumbled through that awkward topic, but I think my sincere feelings were conveyed? I felt satisfied with it. ¡°Then could you perhaps teach me as well?¡± ¡°Oh my, can you use magic too?¡± ¡°Somewhat. However, I haven¡¯t quite been able to find a good teacher. I haven¡¯t had a chance to learn healing magic.¡± ¡°So you could use magic¡­ is it possible that you¡¯ve actually been in this business longer than me?¡± ¡°I have no experience as an adventurer, but I¡¯ve been a mercenary many times.¡± ¡°Then could I hear stories of when you were active? As payment.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re fine with that, then gladly.¡± My Master and Miss Bella walk side by side. Irk, why does this feel like a bad sign? I stretch out my hand and pull my Master by his ear, bringing his face next to mine. ¡°Ouch, ouch, ouch?!¡± ¡°Master, that¡¯s no good. If you start bragging about your past, then there won¡¯t be any point to the assumed name you¡¯re using, right?¡± ¡°I-I get it, I get it already, so let go of my ear!¡± ¡°My oh my, jealous, are we?¡± Miss Bella giggles with a smile. Surprisingly, this is someone I have to watch out for! For the sake of raising my skills I¡¯ll lower my head, but I feel like it¡¯ll be dangerous to let this woman near my Master. Is this what they call a woman¡¯s intuition? Though inside I¡¯m still supposed to be a man. That day we had just left the city by the highway, there was a lot of foot traffic, and we went even farther than expected without any trouble. When the sun was setting, we began setting up camp immediately. Pitching tents, gathering firewood, checking water supplies, make a campfire, there are plenty of things that need to be done. Though he has plenty of strength, the one-handed Alec helps set up tents, my Master checks the area and confirms our water supplies. Marle and I are helping Mr. Arim gather firewood. ¡°Marle, how was it over there?¡± ¡°Really fun! It was my first time seeing such vast fields of wheat!¡± It looks like Marle is also feeling just as excited as me. Mr. Arim, with a big ax hanging from his waist, is also smiling along with us. If anything, this guy seems more like a ¡°Forest Bear¡±. ¡°I¡¯m glad you had fun over there. Mr. Arim, how was Alec doing?¡± ¡°He¡¯s really good. His body is strong, and he¡¯s skilled enough that you wouldn¡¯t think he only has a right arm. He¡¯s to the point where I¡¯d like him to join us right now.¡± ¡°A very high evaluation. Well, he¡¯s taken already, so let him off the hook on being an adventurer please.¡± ¡°Huh? Aah, you¡¯re talking about this young lady?¡± It seems Marle¡¯s feelings have somehow slipped out in half a day. I deftly gathered firewood, collected it all in my robe¡­ and then because I couldn¡¯t pack it tightly enough I spilled it everywhere, but since Marle had my back, we finished our job. And like this it became dusk on the first day of our journey. Translated by Soyokaze Translations ¡°Miss Yuuri, you should¡­ exercise?¡± ¡°¡­ Yeah.¡± Chapter 25: Receiving a Lecture Chapter 25: Receiving a Lecture Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: We will now take a peek at stories about healing magic, and the world --------------------------------------------------------------- After everyone around the campfire took their dinner together (I stuck to my Master), the standing night watcher, miss Bella, taught us about healing arts. The warmth of the fire is the greatest enemy standing in my way. ¡­ So sleepy. ¡°Then first, about the healing arts, could you tell me roughly how much knowledge you have?¡± ¡°It heals wounds, and grows arms and stuff.¡± ¡°Apply spell. It¡¯s healed. Amaaazing¡ªlike that.¡± ¡°Right, I can tell that you know absolutely nothing about it.¡± In response to mine and my Master¡¯s extremely concise and perfect answers, miss Bella gave us a look of reproach. ¡°Healing arts are spells based on faith that heal wounds, and the biggest difference between it and other magic is that it uses faith as its starting point rather than knowledge.¡± ¡°Faith, and not knowledge?¡± ¡°Yes. General magic uses the caster¡¯s knowledge to activate their magic power and deploy a spell. However, healing arts are for restoring a person¡¯s body. That is, a person¡¯s body, created by God, being restored to the form that God created it in. Of course, there are ways to use knowledge to check the injuries and cast magic to make the wound as good as new¡­ but those really have a much lesser effect than faith based spells.¡± Since a person¡¯s body was made by God, you ask God, ¡°Recover this,¡± and even without any knowledge of it, it¡¯ll return to its original state¡­ is I guess what she¡¯s saying? Well that¡¯s a problem. Would ¡°Peerless Magic¡± apply into my faith as well? I¡¯ve never tried it. ¡°Excuse me, to be honest I don¡¯t have any confidence in how faithful my heart is¡­¡± ¡°Me either.¡± ¡°In that case, you¡¯ll have to go the route of regenerating the wound through magic. Except in this case, knowledge about the human body is required¡­¡± ¡°I guess we can¡¯t just think be healed and it¡¯ll instantly heal, eh?¡± ¡°I definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to connect blood vessels and nerves and stuff back together either.¡± I probably could have if I had majored in medicine. Unfortunately I majored in literature. ¡°I see. However, the human body has ¡°the power to heal itself¡±. There¡¯s a way to accelerate that too you know?¡± ¡°In that case sickness, and injuries that go beyond what the body can heal wouldn¡¯t be healed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It just speeds up the recovery of wounds that would normally heal. But for adventurers, this is also pretty important.¡± In summary, there are 3 categories of healing arts. 1. Ask God to heal for you (requires a faithful heart) 2. Use magic power to forcefully heal things (requires medical knowledge) 3. Promote natural recovery (comparatively easy?) Hmm, healing Alec¡¯s arm seems like it would require number 1. 2 is impossible without the original arm, and 3 just feels out of the question. ¡°Which method do you use, miss Bella?¡± ¡°I use the method based on a faithful heart. However, I was engaged in medical practice at the temple, so I can also treat people through magical power, and I also know how to increase natural recovery for lighter wounds.¡± ¡°Magnificent. So you¡¯re saying you use them all.¡± ¡°At the temple they call me a jack of all trades, and a master of none.¡± ¡°How does a person obtain faith I wonder?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something you can get by talking about it, so¡­¡± It has been five years since I came to this world, Mareba village had no temple, and my Master had no interest in that stuff, so I have absolutely no knowledge of it. Miss Bella says the principal god in this world is the creator god Vritol, and there are sects which have faith in his subordinate gods, and sects that have faith in the World Tree it seems. I don¡¯t know much about gods, but the World Tree stands towering in the center of the country of Novelius, and actually I can see it from here. That thing, is the top of it reaching all the way to the stratosphere¡­? A certain fairytale hero was said to have climbed that tree, eaten a sprout from it and obtained eternal life, or something like that. And then the king, jealous of that, demanded that the hero fetch a sprout for him too, but he was rejected. The hero who refused the king¡¯s wishes was subjected to torture¡­ well, just like me he died and came back to life repeatedly, and as a result he fell into despair and it¡¯s said that he changed to the form of a dragon, burned them to the ground, and left that place. This was the originator of the dragon species it seems, therefore it¡¯s rumored that a dragon¡¯s heart is a wonder drug that grants immortality. Anyway, I can¡¯t get any real sense of God, and my Master seems to be the same, so magic with faith as the origin seems impossible. It looks like the people of this world accept all sorts of things, and there seem to be many people with an idea of faith similar to Japan¡¯s. From here on miss Bella is going to teach us how to promote natural recovery, and just the basics of healing with magic power. She taught us our first lecture. ~*~ Dawn, on the second day. Due to the rain starting at dawn, we had an early departure. Having been awoken by rain drops pelting me, I¡¯m in an unusually bad mood¡­ was in a bad mood! My Master, carrying luggage in the middle of the rain, had his usual swept-back hairstyle fall apart, and his hair is just being let down! It¡¯s rare, so rare! ¡°Gufu¡­ Dufufufu¡­¡± ¡°Yuuri, stop giggling in such a creepy voice.¡± ¡°Well, a little rain can be nice sometimes, Master.¡± I¡¯m in the wagon with a hood hung over top, so I¡¯m not getting wet, but my Master is getting soaked. ¡°Ufufu, you¡¯re getting so wet¡­ aren¡¯t you a messy one?¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you to cut that out.¡± ¡°Tsk, the brat sure has it easy. Even though the rain over here is a real pain in the ass.¡± As usual, mister Jack has to stick his nose in. The escorts can¡¯t ride along in the carriages, so they all, without exception, are soaked¡­ Ooh?! Miss Bella, it¡¯s see¡­ it¡¯s see through! ¡­ Fuu. ¡°Hey, miss Yuuri what are you look¡ªBhav, don¡¯t you look too!¡± ¡°Ah, so, sorry¡± ¡°Aah, that¡¯s gonna happen with a white priest¡¯s robe¡­ here, you can put this on.¡± ¡°Th-thank you very much. Mister Albine.¡± Why you, how dare you put my Master¡¯s outer wear over your own shoulders! That woman really is dangerous! ¡°Mast¡­ Albine, I¡¯m gonna get out¡ª¡° ¡°Stay in there, you¡¯ll catch a cold.¡± ¡°¡­ Yessir.¡± Seeing our exchange, missus Leche smiles and giggles. This one smiles a lot, huh? ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s because it seems like you¡¯re having a lot of fun over there. We don¡¯t have a child, so I was wondering if maybe this is how it feels to have a daughter.¡± ¡°Even though you¡¯re on a journey together, you¡¯re apart from mister Elric for more than half the day, aren¡¯t you lonely?¡± ¡°My, with how lively it is, I don¡¯t feel lonely at all.¡± ¡°My apologies, for how active my little one is.¡± So it¡¯s my fault?! Actually, when he said ¡°my little one¡± as if I¡¯m his, it made my heart beat a little bit. While repeatedly having such exchanges, the carriage suddenly stopped. I flipped over, and totally didn¡¯t hit the back of my head. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The carriage in front of us stopped.¡± ¡°I wonder if something happened¡­? I¡¯ll go check on them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go too.¡± The driver, mister Pele, and the scout, mister Bhav have a short interaction before mister Bhav runs off ahead. The guardian, mister Kale also went along with them, but he moves at the speed you would expect. I thought I would use the [far sight] spell, but with the rain here I would have to distort the scenery to see, and with the magician mister Oreas here I can¡¯t use it. This is an original of mine after all. It would probably be outside the range of ¡°moderately skilled.¡± After a short while, mister Bhav and the others came back. It looks like there¡¯s a carriage ahead of us that got caught in the mud and is stuck. Alec and the guys in Vulture¡¯s Nest are helping out, but it seems they can¡¯t quite get it out. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go take a look too.¡± ¡°Ah, hey!¡± Jumping out of the carriage, I run off to the front, and my Master follows along in a rush. Seeing the two of us speeding towards them, the Vulture¡¯s healer, mister Mac, calls out to us. ¡°Yo, you two sightseeing? You have a surprisingly burning curiosity.¡± ¡°Yeah, in spite of being shy, this girl has a strong curiosity. If you don¡¯t mind, could I help out too?¡± ¡°Thanks, please do. I¡¯m rather wimpy, so I¡¯m not much help.¡± If I used [telekinesis] or [body reinforcement], I could have this done in a snap¡­ but there are too many eyes watching. When using a spell, no matter what, it¡¯s absolutely necessary to make a magic circle appear, so it can¡¯t be done secretly. Wait a minute, I don¡¯t have to be the one using it, do I? ¡°You, magician over there¡­ mister Baram was it? Is it possible for you to lift it using [telekinesis]?¡± ¡°Hn, ahh¡­ now that you mention it, there was a spell like that.¡± ¡°Baram, you dolt! If you can do something like that, then do it already!¡± ¡°Haha, my bad, my bad.¡± [Telekinesis] is a fundamental spell, so the majority of magicians can use it. However, the strength of it varies from person to person. But even so, lending your power without making use of your surroundings, it should be very convenient for a situation like this. I wonder if this guy is also a surprisingly careless person? After that, mister Oreas was brought along and with the two of them casting [telekinesis] together, they pulled the stuck wheels out one at a time, and pushing it along, it came out very easily. ¡°Young lady, you saved us. So you had some knowledge of magic.¡± Mister Arim gave me words of appreciation. It would have been easier if I could have handled it myself though! ¡°Something like this happened before. So I just remembered what happened back then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re learning healing arts from the Bears? Can you use magic too, young lady?¡± ¡°I hope we¡¯ll be able to use it. Unfortunately, it seems we don¡¯t have the disposition for healing magic.¡± ¡°I was thinking it would be convenient if you could use magic.¡± My Master threw appropriate interjections into the conversation for me. To avoid making any trouble here, let¡¯s just play dumb. ¡°Man, thanks for that. I couldn¡¯t do anything alone no matter what I tried.¡± ¡°Nah, we gotta help each other out when we¡¯re in trouble. But even so, not having an escort¡­ isn¡¯t that a bit dangerous?¡± ¡°About that¡­ just ahead of here I was attacked by bandits. I somehow managed to get away, but the two people acting as my escorts, you see.¡± ¡°They¡¯re just ahead of here, huh¡­? Thank you for the valuable information. So how far away was it that you were attacked?¡± ¡°It happened last night. There were quite the number of them too, It would probably be best to take a detour. If I had asked around before heading out, those two wouldn¡¯t have died either.¡± Behind me, mister Elric and the carriage¡¯s merchant exchanged information. Somehow it looks like there are bandits running rampant ahead of here. Would it be best to take a detour? ¡°Yes, I suppose so, I¡¯m taking women along, so we¡¯ll have to consider it.¡± ¡°Well then I¡¯ll take my leave. A good journey to you.¡± ¡°Likewise, a safe journey to you.¡± Apparently we¡¯ve got our first bit of trouble on our journey. Chapter 26: Procuring Emergency Rations Chapter 26: Procuring Emergency Rations Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Now then, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve been completely idle in these past two years. I didn¡¯t make anything to sell, but I¡¯m developing 4 magic tools. The first one is the Cleaver. It has 4 [enchantments] applied to it: [Weight reduction], [Toughness], [Acceleration], and [Smashing] (incomplete). As an evolved form of Sentinel, it¡¯s a heavy weapon I made with a focus on area of effect power. It uses silver as its base material, which successfully increased the number of enchantments over iron by 1. However, with my fighting ability, I had trouble hitting Alec. As such, it¡¯s now a weapon for use against large enemies who are bad at dodging. Though if it hit, it could probably even kill a dragon easily! Also, for something that couldn¡¯t be avoided, there¡¯s certainly the brute force option of thrusting it forward at high speed¡­ The second one is the Bracelet. It has 4 [enchantments] applied to it: [Body reinforcement], [Toughness], [Connection], and [Strength] (incomplete). The bracelet is made of silver, and is interwoven with [Body reinforcement]. It¡¯s a magic tool for emergency use. By converting magic power, it can grant its user a strength reinforcement. However, it¡¯s not as if it supplies the magic power. It¡¯s no different from the tool user converting his own magic power. As a test, I let Alec use it, and the activation time was only 4 seconds. He had to stay in bed for a full day to recover as the end result. When I let him use it in combination with the Mantle, he had 23 minutes, but since his own magic power is low, it feels like the effect was lacking. With me being able to activate multiple spells at once, I developed this thinking I would be able to get an agility reinforcement while using the strength reinforcement. The third one is the Mantle. It has 4 [enchantments] applied to it: [Maintenance], [Connection], [Strength], and [Toughness] (incomplete). The mantle is interwoven with silver thread, and I developed it to make use of its wide surface area as an external magic power tank. The outermost one, called [Strength], is an [enchantment] that keeps the mantle¡¯s flexibility while making it difficult to destroy, increasing its defensive power. Using the cloth folded twice on the lining, it was [enchanted] with [Connection], and [Maintenance], making it so it could permanently contain 3 times my own magic power. Using it together with the bracelet, I can successfully increase the effective time of [Body reinforcement] to 4 times the regular length. So roughly 30 minutes. The problems are that it¡¯s heavy, and extremely hot¡­ I didn¡¯t think about its breathability. And the fourth one is the Bow. It has 5 [enchantments] applied to it: [Toughness], [Strength], [Acceleration], [Acceleration], and [Sharpness] (incomplete). It¡¯s the third of my weapons, so the pet name I gave it is ¡°Third Eye¡±. I went through a lot of hardships developing this weapon¡­ On this bow made of black crystal, I used [Strength] to give it flexibility, [Toughness] to harden it, and by [enchanting] it with [Acceleration] twice, it greatly increases the launch speed of the arrows fired from it. This my trump card. Since crystal isn¡¯t normally flexible, it¡¯s not a material suited for making a bow out of, but I tried brute forcing some pliability into it with [Strength]. With [Toughness] [enchanted] on top of that, it¡¯s an unbelievable weapon that even 10 adults together wouldn¡¯t be able to draw. The finishing blow to this weapon is that the arrows fired can¡¯t handle the twice applied super acceleration. The moment the arrow is fired, the otherwise rare phenomenon of it breaking in two occurs. After covering the arrowhead in iron, the next problem that came to light was the arrow, going faster than the speed of sound, burning off its fletching and flying off in some unknown direction. To deal with this I made the arrows entirely out of iron, and instead of using fletching to stabilize the arrows, I carved spiraling grooves into the arrowhead and the resulting gyroscopic effect kept it stable instead. Thanks to that, its penetrating power increased, and now even busting through a small castle wall would be¡­ I thought of making it out of iron for a different reason though. My Master gave me some words of complement saying, ¡°Exactly where do you plan on going to war?¡± Basically there¡¯s no way to use it without [Body reinforcement], so it¡¯s specially designed for me. But that¡¯s not true of the bracelet and mantle. ~*~ Well then, since there are bandits on the highway ahead, we had a conference that night, but there¡¯s some unexpected confusion here. Ahead of us are some larger mountains, and the highway continues by weaving through the valley between them. The one responsible for this trip, mister Elric, prioritized safety and proposed taking a detour around the mountains, but surprisingly the guys in Vulture¡¯s Nest are opposed to that idea. They said, ¡°we won¡¯t have enough food for the detour¡± as their reasoning. If we take the detour, it would take about 4 additional days. This could indeed be considered a serious situation. ¡°Aside from rainy days like this, we wouldn¡¯t have enough water either. If we take the detour, it¡¯ll definitely be dangerous. If it¡¯s just some bandits, then we can deal with them.¡± ¡°However, there¡¯s still a slim chance. If it¡¯s food we need, couldn¡¯t we use some of the vegetables we¡¯re transporting as our food?¡± ¡°It¡¯s 4 days worth of food for 17 people. And if we put our hands on the goods we¡¯re transporting, then our reputation will be at stake.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that to myself. I¡¯ll make sure your assessment doesn¡¯t fall because of this.¡± Mister Arim makes the unusual suggestion of forcing our way through. Since there are a lot of animals in the mountains, it¡¯s pretty well hunted, but I wonder if there¡¯s not much prey in this area? ¡°With us and the Vultures here, a bunch of bandits are nothin¡¯!¡± ¡°But purposely stepping into danger would be¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re too careful, Bella. I¡¯m sure Oreas feels the same.¡± ¡°I suppose I would be against it. I don¡¯t feel that it would be impossible.¡± ¡°Right, you too eh?!¡± It looks like the opinions of Forest Bear are split in half. They all make some good points, but¡­ ¡°By the way, what would you do Master?¡± ¡°I would take the detour. With a wife and customers brought along, we can¡¯t do anything reckless. I feel sympathetic towards mister Elric¡¯s point of view.¡± ¡°I want to insist that we break through. If we leave the bandits be, then the damage they do will increase.¡± ¡°That¡¯s if we assert our actual abilities. We hid them because it would cause trouble, but did it backfire on us?¡± ¡°And you can¡¯t forget that we brought Marle along with us, Alec.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Alec¡¯s impulsive habits haven¡¯t changed. Eventually the conference ended, and the suggestion of Vulture¡¯s Nest passed. The plan is to take the mountain road and break through it seems. All of the Vultures were on the side of going through, so the majority won out. However, can¡¯t the dependable Vultures win over hunger in peaceful times? Or could it be that the food situation in this world is just that harsh? ~*~ Translated by Soyokaze Translations (soyokazeweb . wordpress . com) It¡¯s after midnight. When miss Bella¡¯s lecture finished up, I went into the nearby forest. I told my Master I¡¯m going to pick some flowers. Yes, going to the bathroom. Magic tools like my mantle need magic supplied to them, so once a day I take some independent action like this. ¡°So basically if we can get some extra food for ourselves here, then we won¡¯t have any reason to put Marle in danger.¡± Activating my bracelet¡¯s power, I reinforce my strength. I climb a tree, take a look around with far sight, and spot a bear far away. It looks like mister bear is about 300 meters away? With a normal bow, that¡¯s a distance it wouldn¡¯t reach, but with Third Eye, that¡¯s well within range. Using my strength based [Body reinforcement], I activate the bow¡¯s ability. ¡°Eat this, Forest Bear!¡± Putting in all of my rage towards the usual mister Jack, I release an arrow filled with an outburst of anger. With the doubled [Acceleration], the iron arrow is propelled forward with an insane force, far exceeding the speed of a bullet. Seeing the bear at close range with [Far sight], the arrow thrust through it like it was a spear. A moment later, a booming impact sound, which you wouldn¡¯t think came from an arrow, rang out. Receiving a direct hit, the bear had a large 30 centimeter hole open up in his spine, and the explosion-like landing sound came from the ground behind it. With a normal bow I would be able to reuse the arrows¡­ but as far as this weapon is concerned, I can¡¯t even hope for that. The bear who received a direct hit stood like that for a moment before collapsing, and then didn¡¯t even twitch. Taking a moment to observe it, after confirming its death, I go to secure my prey. 300 meters was a little far. ~*~ Translated by Soyokaze Translations (soyokazeweb . wordpress . com) ¡°Mast¡­ Albine, could you come here for a bit?¡± ¡°Hm? What is it?¡± ¡°Oh my, the princess calls.¡± Why the hell is miss Bella sitting in my spot? (to the immediate left of my Master) This is making me a little mad you know? ¡°I found something odd out here.¡± ¡°Then I will also¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re on watch duty miss Bella, so could you stay here?¡± ¡°Fufu, I guess so. Have a good late night stroll with your dad. But don¡¯t go too far, okay?¡± There¡¯s an obvious misunderstanding here, but correcting her would be a pain, so I¡¯ll leave it alone. Carrying the bear over next to the caravan is fine, but we¡¯d have a problem if I ended this by saying I¡¯m the one who did this to the bear. I have to consult my Master. I take only my Master to a place a litter further away and explain the circumstances. ¡°The truth is, I took down a bear to help improve our food situation, but we would have problems if I brought it back.¡± ¡°You did something to bring trouble again¡­¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t do this, then wouldn¡¯t we be putting Marle in a dangerous situation? She has past trauma with bandits already!¡± ¡°That¡¯s certainly true¡­ anyway, where is this bear?¡± I show him the bear with a large hole opened up from its back to its flank. ¡°With a wound like this¡­ I suppose we could fool them by saying it was stabbed on some tree?¡± ¡°A tree?¡± ¡°Ah, perfect, if it were to fall from that rock onto that tree over there¡­¡± ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t it be best to show them the scene directly?¡± And so we impaled mister bear on the tree next to the rock, and on the top of the rock we left claw-like scratch marks to try and create the scene. After this we¡¯ll call everyone over and collect it. I¡¯ll give my apologies to mister bear, who we¡¯re putting in this desecrated state. I¡¯m very sorry. ~*~ Translated by Soyokaze Translations (soyokazeweb . wordpress . com) ¡°Excuse me everyone, could you please wake up for a moment. We¡¯ve discovered a bear¡¯s corpse a little ways away.¡± ¡°It looks like it¡¯ll be really difficult to collect, so could you lend us a hand?¡± ¡°The hell, just leave the corpses alone¡­¡± As usual we¡¯ll just ignore the bitching and moaning of mister Jack¡­ ¡°If we can collect it, then our food problems will be solved.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to knock down a tree, so¡­ mister Arim, could you help us?¡± ¡°Mm, uhh huh¡­ well, sure, if you say so.¡± It¡¯s probably because he just woke up, but he gave a very inarticulate response. We led everyone, yawning, over to the bear¡¯s corpse, and everyone got together to dismantle it. Since we didn¡¯t have time for it, we went a little light on draining the blood, but we¡¯ll just have to deal with it. ¡°It sure died in a pretty strange place.¡± Mister Kale raised a very good point, but this is something my Master expected. ¡°It probably slipped and fell off that rock. Because of all the rain¡­ besides, it¡¯s great that we could get some meat here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, now we have enough food that we could take the detour around the mountain.¡± Sure enough, mister Elric piggybacks off the point that my Master raised. ¡°Ahh, yeah I guess so¡­¡± ¡°Mister Arim, are you feeling all right? Did you catch a cold?¡± I¡¯m a little worried about mister Arim, since his speech doesn¡¯t seem very energetic. Maybe he has low blood pressure? If it was Jack, then I¡¯d ignore it though. Alec is the type who could go his whole life without catching a cold, so I¡¯m not worried about him. ¡°Uhh¡­ yeah, maybe I have.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got some medicine that will lower your temperature, so please take some.¡± Balms and fever medicine are indispensable for a traveling medical kit after all. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s pretty light, so Mac should be able to heal it with his techniques. Sorry to worry you.¡± ¡°As long as you¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°That aside, we should get some fever reducing herbs too, shouldn¡¯t we¡­? Hey, Prokel. You¡¯re familiar with the mountains. Could you find some herbs for us?¡± ¡°Ha, why do I have to do something like¡­¡± ¡°There should be a forest ahead of here. Go investigate there and come back.¡± ¡°Mm, ah, I see. Yeah, I suppose so, I¡¯ll run over there and be back before you know it.¡± ¡°Eh, we can split some with you, you know?¡± Since we brought plenty of medicine along? ¡°Nope, if pros like us take the medicine that an amateur young lady prepared, it¡¯ll call our character into question. This is our chance to show you how adaptive us experts can be.¡± ¡°Uh-huh, as long as you¡¯re fine¡­?¡± That was strangely unconvincing, but eh, whatever. We didn¡¯t have time to slowly drain the blood from the bear meat, so we expose it to the rain and let the water rinse it off. It¡¯s gonna drain the flavor from it though. We got more than 100 kilograms of meat, but we ended up having to pile it into the carriages. It would be impossible for two people to carry this around after all. There was more of a fuss than I expected, but how does it feel to suddenly have grilled meat for dinner, everyone? I suppose the girls like miss Bella might be a little worried about their weight? But you won¡¯t see me getting fat! At any rate, the second night ended like that. We¡¯re a little lacking in sleep though¡­? Chapter 27: Bandit Extermination (1) Chapter 27: Bandit Extermination (1) Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations It¡¯s the third day. Since we¡¯re taking the roundabout way, we¡¯ve got 11 days to go. Our plans are being considerably delayed. We got some bear meat for our main dish. The only remaining problem is water, but with the magicians here, that¡¯s practically solved. We can just melt the ice that we get from the [Icicle] spell. Oh, and I secretly wove [Weight reduction] into the inside of my Master¡¯s knapsack as an experiment. We¡¯ve got a spare knapsack on hand, so even if this one breaks, it¡¯ll still be fine. The result was excellent. The food and water that were put in the knapsack were all effected by [Weight reduction], and it looks like the 40 kilogram load was reduced to a mere tenth of that, down to 4 kilograms. Since the [Enchantment] was done in secret, my Master, not realizing what I did, put too much strength into lifting the knapsack onto his back and ended up flipping it over and spilling everything. He saw my mischievous look right then. ¡ªThanks to that, the top of my head has been hurting since this morning. Because of his fist. Anyway, this is convenient, so I¡¯m thinking of giving [Weight reduction] to Alec later too. ¡­ If I wove it into someone¡¯s clothes, I wonder if it would reduce the person¡¯s weight? ¡°And while thinking that, what a lucky opportunity to try it out! We have Alec¡¯s pants right here.¡± ¡°Miss Yuuri, I really don¡¯t think we should be doing this¡­¡± ¡°Failures and sacrifices are indispensable to experimentation. Alec has become our sacrifice.¡± ¡°He hasn¡¯t been sacrificed yet though?¡± Coincidentally acquiring Alec¡¯s change of clothes while [Enchanting] his knapsack, I immediately start my verification. Why his pants, you ask? Because Marle came along to grab them and rub them against her skin. This girl is kinda dangerous¡­ though I do the same thing with my Master¡¯s sometimes. Anyway, we need to finish this up before we get caught. I draw the magic circle with fire magic. I¡¯m burning it into an item, but since the target this time is cloth, I have to keep the fire¡¯s strength down. There¡¯s a subtle difficulty in keeping the fire weak enough that it doesn¡¯t burn up. ¡°There we go. Now we just pour some magic power in¡­ and it¡¯s done. I feel like the pants themselves got lighter.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right. It¡¯s about as light as a handkerchief.¡± ¡°Now I just need you to hand this over to him as a change of clothes. Do you think it would be best if you at least gave him an explanation?¡± ¡°So just tell mister Alec that you put [Weight reduction] on them, and ask him if he feels any lighter, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfect, Marle!¡± That afternoon. Due to the [Enchantment], the durability of the pants dropped, and they crumbled into dust. We all saw Alec go streaking along the highway. ~*~ And now it¡¯s the fourth day. Everyone was told that Alec¡¯s streaking incident was a cute prank that I played on him (since it¡¯s a secret that I can use magic), and my punishment was a scolding from miss Bella the next day while I sat in seiza position. The reason the knapsack was fine is probably because the weight reduction rate of its contents was greater than the reduction in its durability. It seems anything put into the knapsack was bundled together with the ¡°knapsack¡± item and [Weight reduction] applied to all of it together. However, in the case of the clothes, they were regarded as the equipment of their ¡°wearer¡±, so the effect of the circle made on the ¡°clothes¡± only applied to the clothes I guess? Even if the knapsack¡¯s durability was reduced by half, since the weight of its contents was reduced to a tenth, it seems like it could still handle it. My next topic of research will be on how external factors reduce durability. That¡¯s when all of a sudden, the lead carriage¡ª ¡ªVanished. ¡°What the? What happened?!¡± ¡°Wait, it might be dangerous, don¡¯t go near there.¡± ¡°Is this really the time to worry about that?!¡± At the abrupt disappearance, the rear carriage goes into a panic. Being dumbfounded myself, I couldn¡¯t grasp the situation either. By mister Jack¡¯s instructions, we quickly advanced to where the carriage vanished¡­ and that¡¯s where the bandits started raiding us! ¡°RAAAAHHHH! Get ready, you asshooooles!¡± ¡°HEHEHE! Don¡¯t go killing the women!¡± ¡°An ambush?!¡± ¡°Shit! Kale, Bhav, hold ¡¯em off!¡± The jeers of the bandits were followed by mister Jack¡¯s astonished voice and mister Oreas¡¯ rushed instructions. Following those instructions, our vanguard heads off to meet the 10 or so bandits that jumped out from the side of the highway. Mister Jack can deal with the bandits, I¡¯ll search for the cause of the disappearing¡­ Alec and Marle were on that carriage! Jumping down from the carriage, I carefully investigate the area where¡­ well, if they¡¯re raiding us here, then it¡¯s obviously a trap. Reluctantly, I activate ¡°Appraisal¡±, targeting the ¡°space¡±. Although the main force is with the other carriage, we don¡¯t have a minute to spare. Actually, from our perspective, nothing has changed much for the Vultures and the Bears. ¡ªAre these cobblestones on the ground? Moreover, it¡¯s a magic circle. Is this a teleportation formula? ¡°Master, take a look at this!¡± ¡°This is¡­ a magic circle for a [Teleport] trap?¡± ¡°It looks like they split us up with this. I¡¯ve analyzed how to activate it. We should hurry and follow¡­¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t! If we [Teleport] now, then we¡¯ll be leaving the vanguard behind.¡± When mister Jack, Kale, and Bhav jumped out of the carriage, they went outside the [Teleport]¡¯s range¡­ damn them! Well, it¡¯s thanks to them holding the bandits off that I had time to use ¡°Appraisal¡± I suppose? ¡°Ughah!¡± ¡°Jack?! Tsk, Bella, hurry with the healing!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Mister Jack¡¯s right arm was roughly cut, and he couldn¡¯t swing his great sword anymore. There are 10 bandits, and we¡¯re trying to hold them back with 3 people now. We¡¯re in a highly disadvantageous situation. ¡°Mister Jack, fall back!¡± ¡°SHUT IT, keep you mouth zipped, brat!¡± If they come over here, then we can [Teleport] and chase after Alec! Although it¡¯s not like we can let these bandits get away either. I send a quick glance towards my Master, and he gives a small nod in reply. ¡°Wh-what the? What the hell are you doing?!¡± ¡°Whoa! Shit, they¡¯re magicians too?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re in my way. I said fall back, please!¡± Suddenly pulled back, mister Jack was flaring up at someone I guess, the bandits gave some more jeers, and I pulled mister Jack back while I stepped in front. This place is in chaos, but my spells are already being completed. While my Master diverts their attention, I complete a huge [Wind blade]. With the blade extending to 10 meters, I release it in a semicircle and mow down all the nearby bandits at once! ¡°Gwah!¡± ¡°Gyaaaaah!¡± The bandits who were blown away let out their expected screams, and that¡¯s 6 down. On top of that, my Master took out another 2. I had roughly cobbled the magic power together, so it wasn¡¯t very dense and didn¡¯t deliver a killing blow, but it did neutralize them successfully. ¡°Master, there¡¯s two archers in that grove.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± I point to the shadowed gap in the forest. I applaud your judgment for immediately hiding yourselves, but when I¡¯m using ¡°Appraisal¡± on a ¡°space¡±, you can¡¯t keep any secrets from me, you know? My Master burns the tree they¡¯re using as a shield with a [Fireball]. Added to that, I send a [Strong wind] in that direction to strengthen the fire. ¡°HYAAAAAH! He¡­ Help me!¡± ¡°IT BURNS! IT BUUUUUURNS!¡± When the two burning dolls came running out, mister Oreas¡¯ [Light arrows] and mister Bhav¡¯s throwing knives stabbed into them, and the battle was over. ~*~ While mister Bhav and mister Kale are still tying up the bandits that are still breathing, miss Bella is treating mister Jack¡¯s wound. ¡°So you two were magicians as well, then.¡± ¡°My apologies, we have our reasons. It would cause some problems, so we couldn¡¯t talk about it.¡± Mister Oreas cautiously comes over to talk with us. Well if my traveling companions used powerful magic in rapid succession all of a sudden, I¡¯d be cautious too¡­ but we don¡¯t really have time for that right now. After making sure that there are no other enemies, I cancel my ¡°Appraisal¡± on the ¡°space¡± around us. Even with a spare magic power tank, this is the only thing I can¡¯t use much. With the excessive strain it puts on my brain, I can¡¯t think of a good way to lengthen its effect. ¡°Master, there are no more enemies. Also, this magic circle can do [Two-way Teleportations].¡± ¡°Alright, if we can, I¡¯d like to chase after them quickly. Are you ready over there?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve stopped the bleeding. But my healing isn¡¯t strong enough for Jack to be fighting yet. I need to spend more time on it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we don¡¯t have that kind of time. This attack is, without a doubt, an ambush, so there¡¯s no guarantee the other end of this teleporter is safe. In fact, it¡¯s probably even more dangerous over there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. Rather than mister Jack himself, I need his weapon.¡± Yeah, mister Jack uses a great sword. If I hand that sword over to Alec, then he¡¯ll make quick work of the enemies over there. ¡°Why do you need MY weapon?¡± ¡°Alec uses great swords. If he has a sword, he¡¯ll be able to fight.¡± ¡°But he¡¯s only got one arm. And the Vultures are over there anyway!¡± Now that he mentions it, if the weapon doesn¡¯t have [Weight reduction], then Alec definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to swing it with one arm. The [Body reinforcement] in my bracelet is an agility1 reinforcement, so¡­ We were looking at this as a simple bit of traveling. Maybe it really was a mistake to leave all our main weapons behind? ¡°We can¡¯t be sure that there are less enemies on the other end. No, we should actually be looking at the other side as the main force.¡± ¡°Hey, hey, are you saying that even the Vultures members are in danger?¡± ¡°That is certainly a possibility. If we¡¯re all done here, then we need to hurry and go after them.¡± Mister Oreas gave a calm assessment, followed by mister Bhav¡¯s reply. It¡¯s surprising that this man is able to make such calm judgments. ¡°Yuuri, even a little bit is fine, just give some [Weight reduction] to this sword. Get in the carriage too. While you¡¯re applying the spell, I¡¯ll bring us all there together.¡± ¡°¡­ All right, understood. I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± Somehow¡­ I don¡¯t need to give it the full-on application like usual. With Alec¡¯s strength, if I bring it to the weight of a long sword, he¡¯ll be able to swing it around without any problems! Mister Jack¡¯s great sword isn¡¯t as big as Sentinel, so half¡­ no, if I make it a third lighter, it should be fine. I don¡¯t need to carve in the overlapping magic circle. In which case, if I can just get five minutes¡ª! And if I¡¯m applying the weight reduction in the carriage, then I can do the [Enchantment] while my Master is activating the [Teleporter] too. I tell my Master how to activate it, and immediately go in to start [Enchanting]. Alec, Marle, please wait for us. Big sis will be right there to save you! Chapter 28: Bandit Extermination (2) Chapter 28: Bandit Extermination (2) Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: The combat scene continues. There are viewpoint changes this time. It will be Alec ¡ú Yuuri ¡ú Yuuri ¡ú Alec. Translator¡¯s Note: The author mentions Yuuri twice because there¡¯s no explicit indication of viewpoint change in the original, so there are two ¡°scenes¡± of Yuuri in a row. --------------------------------------------------------------- (Alec¡¯s viewpoint) ¡°What is this place?!¡± Mister Elric shouted out. While marching along with the carriage, the view in front of us suddenly changed¡­ that¡¯s the only way I can express it. We should have been walking on a highway outside the woods, but all of a sudden we¡¯re in the middle of a dense forest. ¡ªSomething must have happened? But I have no idea what that something is. Several armed men jump out at us from the forest. There are six of them¡­ bandits? ¡°Marle, come this¡ªugha!¡± Thinking first about the girl who I should be protecting the most, while I was getting her to run away¡­ I was attacked from behind. I roll away from the second follow-up slash and dodge it! ¡°Alec!¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine! Hurry, this way!¡± ¡ªThe wound isn¡¯t deep, but it is wide. If I leave it alone, then I¡¯ll probably lose too much blood to keep going. ¡°Mister Elric is¡­¡± When I spot our employer I see him being rushed into the forest by Arim. ¡°Quickly, over here!¡± ¡°But the cargo¡­ and the children!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not grasping the situation. Forget the cargo and focus on surviving, please!¡± ¡°But¡­!¡± They abandoned us? Anyway, I have to at least protect her, or else¡­ Besides, I was attacked from behind. The only one behind me was Prokel¡­ wait, I was slashed at twice? And the one behind me was the [dual sword] wielding Prokel¡­ hey, you¡¯re kidding right?! ¡°Shit, you betrayed us?!¡± ¡°Tch, dodged, huh? You¡¯ve got good instincts, brat.¡± I don¡¯t have time to quarrel with him. Ivan and Baram are coming around from the other side of the carriage. I kick the dirt at my feet up into Prokel¡¯s eyes to blind him. Following that, I jump up to the carriage, and scoop Marle up from inside the carriage and onto my right shoulder. ¡°Uwooh! You cowardly bastard!¡± ¡°Hya?!¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll give you a good apology later!¡± ¡ªThey betray us and then he calls me cowardly?! While Prokel is blinded, I move from inside the carriage over to the driver¡¯s seat and jump off the other side. While carrying Marle I land and roll to absorb the impact. Without stopping, we rushed into the forest. ¡°U-umm, what about mister Elric?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t protect him too. Besides, since they didn¡¯t attack him while he was over there, I¡¯m sure they intend to let him live.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± She makes an uncomprehending expression. It looks like she hasn¡¯t gotten her head around the fact that they betrayed us. He¡¯s the one they¡¯re escorting. If he dies, then the adventurer¡¯s guild is going to investigate it. It would probably take a lot of skill to weasel their way out of a harsh interrogation. If the guild concludes that they¡¯re up to no good, then they¡¯ll be targeted by adventurers around the world. Most likely, once the trap was sprung, they took him away so he could later testify, ¡°We ran for our lives when we were attacked.¡± Their trust as adventurers will fall, but since they¡¯ll have the mountain of gold coins intended for buying ore as their spoils, naturally they¡¯ll take it. ¡°I see, so if they let us live¡­ then their plot will be revealed.¡± ¡°Eh? Eh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying I¡¯ll definitely protect you, Marle.¡± If I can¡¯t reassure her¡­ it¡¯ll be like these two years since then hadn¡¯t happened. ¡°Ah, umm¡­ ehhh¡­?¡± For some reason her face is going completely red and she¡¯s mumbling. Maybe she¡¯s scared? ¡°Wait, you damned brat!¡± ¡°The hell are you doing, Prokel? Pull yourself together and take them down, you nincompoop!¡± I have no idea where we are, but if I can just buy some time, then Master or Yuuri should come rushing over! All I can do until then is keep running. ¡°There¡¯ll be a lot of shaking for a while, but¡­ try to hang on!¡± I run with everything I have. I expect we won¡¯t be able to get very far from Prokel, but we should be able to pull away from the metal armor wearing Ivan along with the rear guard of Baram and Mac. If it¡¯s Prokel on his own, then I should be able to manage even without a great sword. ~*~ (Yuuri¡¯s point of view) When we teleported over, there were about 6 men unloading the cargo from the carriage. ¡°There¡¯s no fighting¡­? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s already over?!¡± Even though it hasn¡¯t even been¡­ 10 minutes since the Vultures went here? What about Alec? What about Marle?! ¡°Shit, we were too late¡­?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know that yet, let¡¯s kick these guys around!¡± Mister Jack¡¯s spoke in despair, followed by my Master¡¯s command. Going along with those words, mister Kale and mister Bhav leap forward. My Master joins in, beating them back with his own sword. I¡¯m in the middle of [Enchanting], so I can¡¯t participate. Plus I don¡¯t know where Alec and Marle are, so I don¡¯t know where it would be safe to aim any large spells. ¡°HII, what the hell is with these guys?!¡± ¡°UWAA, STOP, help¡­ Guaah!¡± When mister Oreas¡¯ spell stops them, mister Bhav and mister Kale shoot forward with their swords. There¡¯s probably no way they expected us to chase after them. Since they expected that their task was already finished and were relaxed, the bandits couldn¡¯t make use of their numerical advantage and were exterminated in an instant. ~*~ ¡°Well? Were the there?¡± ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t see ¡¯em. Should we see this as a blessing in disguise? They most likely ran away.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s great¡­ that guy, Elric, he¡¯s fine then?¡± While I¡¯m in the middle of [Enchanting], mister Bhav checks the area for enemies, remaining people, and corpses. Miss Leche seems relieved, but we can¡¯t find Alec, Marle, or mister Elric anywhere. Actually¡ª ¡°How strange. I don¡¯t see anyone from the Vultures.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t they watching the others¡¯ backs while they were running away?¡± ¡°Look, if the 6 people here were their opponents, they wouldn¡¯t have needed to escape, and should have been able to come back to where we were.¡± With their bodies not here as proof that they ran away, I can feel a bit of relief, but¡­ ¡°Haa, with things how they are, if we could just find Alec¡­¡± ¡°Hey, there¡¯s footprints here, two sets. They¡¯re running into the forest. By the looks of the footprints, it¡¯s 2 adults.¡± ¡°There¡¯s traces of blood over this way. The footprints¡­ I can¡¯t really tell much.¡± Just as I had finished [Enchanting], and let out a deep breath, it looks like mister Bhav found footprints, and mister Kale found bloodstains. At the mention of bloodstains, miss Leche turns pale. ¡°There¡¯s 1 smaller set of feet here, and 4 adults? 1 of ¡¯em looks particularly heavy. Like they¡¯re wearing metal armor.¡± ¡°Which would mean that¡¯s Ivan.¡± ¡°Good thing it was raining 2 days ago. Thanks to the ground still being wet, it¡¯ll be easy to go after them.¡± ¡°So would the smaller feet be Alec¡¯s? What do you mean there¡¯s only 1 set of children¡¯s feet? What about Marle?¡± ¡°That little lady has especially small feet. I would be able to pick them out immediately, but¡­ I don¡¯t see ¡¯em.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no body, and no footprints¡­ was one person sent somewhere separate from here?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s more likely that Alec is carrying her while running away. A child¡¯s legs won¡¯t be able to get away from an adults after all.¡± Ah, that makes sense¡­ wait, huh? Wait a minute, please. We found 7 sets of footprints. Mister Elric, Alec, and the Vultures¡¯ sets. Isn¡¯t something strange here¡­? ¡°Master, we found 7 people¡¯s footprints?¡± ¡°Yes, and?¡± ¡°The 5 Vultures members who aren¡¯t here, Alec, and mister Elric makes 7 people¡­ what is it they¡¯re running from?¡± ¡°That¡¯d be the band¡ªah.¡± Yeah, there are no footprints from the bandits that should be chasing after the ones running away. ¡°In any case, we should hurry and chase after them. Yuuri and Bhav, I¡¯ll ask you two to go after the 2 adult footprints over there. Kale and I will go after the ones with the bloodstains.¡± ¡°I should be the one headed in Alec¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to carry the great sword there.¡± Even though the great sword has [Weight reduction] placed on it, the enchantment was a rush job, so it still has about the weight of a fairly heavy long sword. If it was me, I¡¯d be staggering around quite a bit. We could probably catch up to them quickly if we fly through the air, but we don¡¯t have any scouting or mountain-dweller skills. If we want to chase after them with any accuracy, then we¡¯ll need mister Kale¡¯s and mister Bhav¡¯s expertise. ¡°I understand. Miss Bella, please go along with Master. Since it looks like someone is hurt. Mister Oreas, please watch over mister Jack here.¡± ¡°Alright, got it.¡± ¡°Understood. Be careful out there.¡± ¡°Well then, let¡¯s hurry, mister Bhav!¡± The two of us followed after the footprints deep into the forest. ~*~ (Alec¡¯s point of view) Heeh¡­ heeh¡­ haa¡­ Quietly, quickly¡­ even thinking that, my heavy breathing leaks from my throat. A small child though she may be, there¡¯s only so far I can run from an adult while carrying her on my back. ¡ªI wonder how far we¡¯ve pulled away from Ivan? We¡¯ve been running in a huge circle, so we shouldn¡¯t be too far away from where the carriage is. It would be safest to run in a straight line, but if we do that, then we¡¯d be getting further away from Master and the others who should be coming for us. Without getting too far from the carriage, we needed to shake our pursuers. I knew I would be pushing it from the start, but this is more tiring then I expected. If I wear myself out any more than this, then I won¡¯t have the energy to handle Prokel anymore. ¡°I guess¡ªI¡¯ll have to prepare myself.¡± ¡°Eh? Umm, are you all right, Alec?¡± ¡°Yeah, but at this rate we won¡¯t be able to get away, so I think I¡¯ll defeat just one of the people chasing us.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t, it¡¯s too dangerous!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s only one person. Anyway, it¡¯ll be touch-and-go here, so I¡¯m thinking you should run ahead on your own.¡± ¡°I will not!¡± A very clear refusal¡­ I¡¯m sure it¡¯s because she would be scared on her own. But there¡¯s no way I can just let her stand here with three swords flying around. ¡°Sorry, but it would be dangerous for you to be here with me Marle. When my long sword crosses blades with Prokel¡¯s twin swords, whoever is nearby will be the one in danger.¡± ¡°¡­ But¡­¡± ¡°Then could you at least hide somewhere a little separated from here?¡± ¡°¡­ In that case, I understand.¡± I had no intention of losing in the first place, but now I absolutely cannot lose. I don¡¯t think she has any chance of staying hidden from the scout, Prokel. She hides in the shadows of a large tree a ways away. I draw my long sword, and stay vigilant of what¡¯s behind me. ¡­ And Prokel comes towards me. ¡°Yo, is our game of tag already over?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that line is a ¡°death flag¡± you know?¡± ¡°The hell¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It means whoever said it is gonna die.¡± I show off something I learned from Yuuri a long time ago, and buy myself just a little more time. Long swords really don¡¯t come easily for me. ¡°So it¡¯s something like a jinx? In that case, I just have to send it back to you!¡± Prokel strikes at me with a fierce attack. Shit, rotten though he may be, he¡¯s a professional. He¡¯s not gonna sit and make idle chit chat with me. ¡°Daaaamn!¡± ¡°Yooou!¡± I dodge his first attack with some good footwork, and use my sword to make a large parry of his follow-up attack. While his balance is thrown off, I make a difficult to dodge thrust towards him. Doing this on a battlefield would be hard because it would risk having my sword taken from me, but since it¡¯s 1-on-1, I can do this as I like. Prokel jumped far away to avoid this. ¡°Tsk, your arm really ain¡¯t bad.¡± ¡°Pretty sure that¡¯s my line!¡± Though he¡¯s surprised by my skill, he circles to my left side and comes at me with a horizontal swipe towards that side. ¡ªComing in from my blind spot, huh? I can¡¯t let my guard down. However, I¡¯ve had plenty of practice in dealing with this move. Attacking my one-armed self on the left side where I don¡¯t have an arm is a by-the-book tactic. While sinking to the ground, I rotate my body, sweep out with my leg and topple him to the ground. I attacked while practically crawling on the ground like that. Prokel fell over, and without immediately getting up, rolled away to get some distance back. Jyaa, went the sound of a sword gouging the ground. Now it¡¯s my turn to pursue. I scoop my sword in an upward slash towards Prokel who¡¯s getting up. He bends backwards to dodge, and his right hand swings out in a counterattack. His right hand, in other words, my left side. ¡ªI knew he¡¯d do that! I turn my upwards swing back around, and drop the blade towards his right hand. Anticipating his counterattack, I hadn¡¯t made a full swing, and my blade reached its target first. Shlick! A dull sound, and the feeling of cutting flesh. But it didn¡¯t reach any bones. ¡°GUAAaaaa?!¡± Even with his right arm split open, his left comes back at me. Before the blade could reach me, I kicked Prokel away. The blade swings, and grazes my forehead. Blood from the wound flows into my right eye, dyeing half of my vision red. ¡°Kuh!¡± ¡°You bastard¡­ how dare you do that to me¡­¡± This is a bad situation. My vision is obstructed, and I¡¯m taking too much time. If Ivan gets here, I won¡¯t be able to cope with it. ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill you! You and that little bitch too!¡± He makes a big swing with a reversed grip. ¡ªVery generous of him. He just doesn¡¯t get the risks of using one arm. Putting my weight into it, I repel his sword. With no obstructions in the way any more, I deliver a body blow to Prokel. Using the momentum from falling down, I stabbed my sword through his stomach. ¡°GYAAAAAaaaaaaaAAAAAAAaaaa?!¡± I shift my body over to his left arm to stop his sword from moving before scooping my blade out of him. ¡°Ah, aguh¡­.¡± ¡°Sorry, one-handed swordplay is my arena.¡± I bark those words towards the now convulsing and blood bubble blowing Prokel. I strike into his throat to deliver the finishing blow before standing back up¡ª ¡ªWhen the other pursuers caught up to us. Chapter 29: Bandit Extermination (3) Chapter 28: Bandit Extermination (3) Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Happy Mother¡¯s Day! Sorry about this being late, I was trying to post earlier but it looks like I messed something up. Then I went out with family for the day. Anywho, here¡¯s the chapter! A/N: The fighting ends here This entire chapter is in Alec¡¯s point of view. --------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°That surprised me. You defeated Prokel?¡± ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯m even more surprised that you caught up already. You¡¯ve got some unusually fast legs.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I get daily exercise.¡± Ivan caught up to me alone? So the other guys in the rear didn¡¯t have enough stamina? Bringing my bloodied sword into a stance, I prepare for his attack. ¡ªThis guy doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯d be able to find Marle, so I can take some comfort in that. ¡°You¡¯re gonna fight to the bitter end?¡± ¡°If I ran, would you let me go?¡± ¡°Well no, I have no intention of letting you live.¡± Then I have no choice but to fight. I have no confidence that I¡¯ll manage against a heavily armored opponent with this long sword, but¡­ if I run, then Marle will probably be found by our other pursuers. If they all get here, will I be able to hold out? ¡°¡­ Nope, if that happens I won¡¯t be able to survive.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Talking to myself. Shall we then?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± The two-handed war hammer Ivan is carrying has a small attack area. And he has plate armor covering his whole body. Diving in next to him and attacking the gaps in his armor is the only way I can¡­! I lower my posture and jump straight towards him. Ivan just stands there waiting, then swings his hammer¡¯s head straight down in front of him. I can¡¯t deflect such a heavy attack like I did with Prokel¡¯s. Making use of my agility, I strongly kick my left leg sideways, and successfully slide over to his flank. ¡°Got ya!¡± Gagya, goes the sound of the collision. However, the full body thrust to his side was stopped with a sound I didn¡¯t want to hear. ¡°How many hits has that sword taken? The edge has gone dull.¡± ¡°Shut it! And why do you have chain mail on too? There¡¯s only so much heavy armor you should be wearing!¡± To think he had mail on under his plate armor. That¡¯s the kind of heavy equipment used for jousting. ¡ªThis guy ran all that way under such weight? What a monster. Fwoom, while we were having our exchange, the war hammer swings towards me. I lower my head, and when I let it pass by, his sent his knee flying at me¡ªthe blood in my right eye made me react late. Instantly I guarded my face with my left arm, but with his equipment, his legs themselves may as well be blunt weapons. A horrible thud sound. And then with a crack, the sound of something jarring, as my left arm drops. ¡ªShit, that even reached my bones? I don¡¯t have anything past the elbow on that side anyway, so my fighting power hasn¡¯t fallen, but I still use it for balance. So now I won¡¯t be able to fine tune my movements¡­? However, because of Ivan sending his knee out, his body continued moving, and he left himself wide open. If my blade is too dull to get through, then I¡¯ll just have to put my whole body into running him through! ¡°DaryaAAaah!¡± Rising into my next attack, I aimed my sword at the gap under his side. If I aim for a killing blow against this armor, then I won¡¯t be able to do any damage. Ivan read the attack and, twisting his arm, received the thrust with the plate armor part of his arm. While that happened, I dodged to Ivan¡¯s back side to prevent his war hammer¡¯s counter attack. The effective area of a two-handed war hammer¡¯s attack is small, but the range is surprisingly long. If I disengage, then Ivan will end up taking the initiative. I have to fight at this distance or else¡­ ¡°HNGH!¡± ¡°Uwah?!¡± After Ivan got himself fired up, amazingly he came at me with a backwards body blow. Clumsily toppling over in the face of the unexpected attack, his back strikes me. The attack halts my breathing. And then he followed the attack with his war hammer! GOOM! Went the hammer head as it went into the ground. I barely rolled out of the way in time. He even made a small crater¡­ that was close. ¡°-Cough-, is your whole body a weapon? You bastard¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just got a lot more battle experience.¡± Because of my rolling away, I¡¯ve taken some distance from him again. ¡°In that case¡­ I¡¯ll just have to keep charging back in!¡± Taking a stance, I once again step into his war hammer¡¯s attack zone. This time it¡¯s a side swipe. I just have to lower my head and¡­ when I let it pass, he sent me flying with a shoulder charge. With my stance broken, he makes a follow-up attack again. I won¡¯t be able to dodge from this posture, so inevitably I¡¯ll have to block it with my sword. Clang went the dull collision sound, as the sword shattered. ¡°It¡¯s over, boy!¡± ¡°Not yet it isn¡¯t!¡± Seeing his opportunity with my sword broken, he immediately assaults me. Aiming at Ivan¡¯s face, I threw my broken sword as a counter. When he reflexively protected his face, I saw my chance and, charging into his chest, this time I was the one giving a body blow. Except with the overwhelming difference in weight, he didn¡¯t even budge an inch¡­ restoring my posture, I circled around behind Ivan. ¡ªJust as I planned. When Ivan turned around, what he saw was me picking up the fallen Prokel¡¯s sword. Shorter than a long sword, I took it in a reverse grip, and once again gave him a body blow. Bracing his legs, Ivan prepared for the attack. And to those legs¡ª ¡°GUOOooooh?!¡± I clung onto his leg,and stabbed the sword into the back of his knee. With a slice I could feel flesh tearing. Just as I thought, it looks like he¡¯s not wearing chain armor on his lower half. Ivan slowly collapses, falling over. Continuing to push the attack, I aimed at his unarmored head and¡­ the moment I went to stab him with the sword, a familiar ball of light entered my field of vision. And then there was a flash. ¡°AGHAAaaaaah!!!¡± A [Light arrow] is sent into my broken left arm. Following its trajectory to its origin, Baram was there. I suppose I¡¯m lucky that it¡¯s weaker than Yuuri¡¯s¡­ if it was her, then it would have gone through my arm. Rather than pain, I could feel my thoughts clearing, but all I could think was that it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Is this what it means to run away from reality? ¡°Heeh, hii¡­ you little brat¡­ giving us such a hard time.¡± ¡°You guys don¡¯t exercise enough¡­ thanks to you I was in a real pinch. Hurry and heal me!¡± ¡°Heheh¡­ you should treat us a little better¡­ let me rest for a second.¡± Baram and Mac were out of breath as they rushed on to the scene. They use attack spells and healing spells. Mac really is very skilled. Unlike Bella, he¡¯s using healing magic from a distance. Baram is watching my position, and it looks like he¡¯s molding enough magic power to send a spell towards me at any time. ¡ªAhh, this really is it. I can¡¯t come up with any brilliant plan for this. But if Marle stays hidden, then at least she should be safe. Since I took down Prokel. ¡°A-Alec!¡± ¡°¡­ Hey, hey.¡± ¡°Ah, so there¡¯s another rodent over there?¡± It looks like even those thoughts were in vain, as she called out in worry for me. Ahh, jeez¡­ ¡°¡ªSo I can¡¯t even give up?¡± I prepare myself for the end. Yeah, I had already prepared myself, but¡­ that was different, and I renewed my preparedness to at least let Marle get away. And for that, I have to take everyone in front of me down by any means necessary. I halt my trembling legs, and stand firm. I ignore the burning pain from my left arm. I stare at my enemies through the blood in my right eye. ¡°OK, ready for one last battle¡­?¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯ve got guts, boy. I won¡¯t be so negligent this time.¡± Baram and Mac falter in the face of my bloodlust. Opposite them, Ivan looks like he¡¯s amused. Like I thought, this guy¡¯s a battle maniac too. ¡°I know this sounds a bit absurd, but this is our job. Forgive us.¡± ¡°As if. Come over here already so I can kill you.¡± Actually I can¡¯t take a step forward. Ivan charges forward with a roar. I can let him break my left shoulder, and if I can hit his throat as a counter¡­ then I can use Ivan¡¯s body as a shield, and somehow get past the magic¡­ As if he read my intentions, Ivan switched to a side attack in a flash. Just how cool-headed is this guy?! But if that¡¯s the case, then if I can move forward just one step and at least dodge the hammer¡¯s head¡­! And then, turned away by something, the war hammer bounced back. I didn¡¯t even take that step forward to dodge a fatal blow. A wind spear flew, and just barely skimmed past me. Is that what knocked the hammer away? ¡°Alec!¡± ¡°Master?!¡± I called out. And a great sword flew towards me. ¡ªI see, you made it just in time. I grab the handle of the great sword with my right hand. It¡¯s light. This thing has [Weight reduction] on it. Ivan was stopped by the sudden movement, but he soon recovered his stance, moving forward with his attack. However¡ª ¡°¡­ You¡¯re out of luck. I¡¯m not the same now, alright?¡± He once again makes a side attack with his war hammer. Using his inertia and my wrists, I rotate the great sword, and slice both his wrists away from below. Throwing all that mass and momentum into the picture, even his armor couldn¡¯t stop it, and the war hammer danced through the air. ¡°¡­ Ah?¡± Suddenly without wrists, Ivan raised his voice in shock. Next I converted the upward slashing momentum to a sideways movement. Following through, I brought the blade to his neck. Shink, sounded out as I felt flesh and bone being crushed. Sending my enemy¡¯s head flying, I turn my attention towards Baram. However, with tremendous speed and ferocity, as if a storm passed through, I saw my Master mowing down the enemies over there. Baram and Mac couldn¡¯t even react before they were taken down. He probably used [Body reinforcement]. ¡°Haha, just what I¡¯d expect¡­ Master.¡± I¡­ guess the relief and sense of accomplishment drained me? Just like that I lost consciousness, it seems. ~*~ When I came to, I was resting on miss Bella¡¯s lap, and Marle was taking care of me. Master is giving me some kind of fishy look. ¡°You¡¯re quite popular, aren¡¯t you Alec?¡± ¡°Nonono, that¡¯s not what¡¯s happening!¡± The blood on my head was wiped off, and the wounds on my body are closing up. There¡¯s still a pretty stiff feeling left, so it doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯m back in top form, but this is plenty. ¡°Miss Bella, thank you very much for the treatment.¡± ¡°The pleasure is mine. It¡¯s an honor to be able to treat ¡°The One-Armed Heavy Swordsman¡±.¡± ¡°Urgh, please don¡¯t call me that! Seriously! Wait, did you tell her, Master?¡± ¡°You showed her when you used a great sword with one hand. Of course she¡¯d figure it out.¡± Now that he mentions it¡­ in this world where healers are precious few, having one arm isn¡¯t unusual¡­ but I¡¯m probably the only one who uses a great sword with that one arm. ¡°Right, Master. The Vultures¡ª¡° ¡°They betrayed us, right?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°We beat down all the bandits on our end. At the end of the [Teleporter] there was no trace of battle, and instead there were the footprints of an immediate retreat. And the bandits weren¡¯t chasing those. Then you were being attacked by our companions. It¡¯s the obvious conclusion.¡± ¡°Then mister Elric is¡­¡± ¡°Yuuri is chasing after him. Well, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡± Uhh, this is Yuuri we¡¯re talking about, you know? I¡¯m worried. ¡°Based on the faces I see here, Elric is fleeing with Arim then?¡± ¡°Yeah, while we were being attacked, Arim ran away with him. Immediately after that is when Prokel cut me.¡± ¡°Thanks to that, it was easy to follow after you though.¡± ¡°Give me a break, it really hurt!¡± I gave Master a wry look. Marle is clinging on to me where that wound is. ¡­ It hurts just a bit. ¡°Anyway, we left Jack and Oreas with the carriage. If you can walk, then we should hurry back.¡± ¡°Right, Marle are you alright? Can you stand?¡± ¡°Yesh, I¡¯m jush fine!¡± She subtly fumbled her reply. I¡¯m relieved that she seems well. I¡¯ve at least recovered enough that I can walk. Let¡¯s hurry and meet up with the others. ¡°I captured these other two alive. Hey, if you run away I¡¯ll kill you, got it?¡± ¡°I-I said I get it already¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way we can run from someone with that kinda speed!¡± When Master uses [Body reinforcement], he¡¯s a monster who can run 100 meters in under 4 seconds after all¡­ I¡¯m sure that would be terrifying. In any case¡­ we were saved by a hair¡¯s breadth. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Yuuri: ¡°You know I¡¯m the protagonist, right?¡± Alec: ¡°Hey, don¡¯t look at me¡­¡± Chapter 30: Tidying up Chapter 30: Tidying up Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations It¡¯s been a few minutes since I ran into the forest with mister Bhav. Ahead of us I could see the flickers of human figures. ¡°Just as I thought, there have been no trackers so far. Mister Bhav, I¡¯m going to call out to them, but stay vigilant, alright?¡± ¡°S-sure.¡± ¡°Also, I use a bow, so I¡¯ll stay behind you, but you absolutely must not turn around.¡± ¡°Huh? Why not?¡± ¡°Just in case.¡± Though it would be best if it doesn¡¯t come to that. ¡°Mister Arim! It¡¯s Yuuri. We came to save you!¡± ¡°¡ªWhat?!¡± Seemingly surprised, mister Arim stopped in his tracks. I guess this would be surprising. That [Teleportation] trap is supposed to be a rarely set contraption in labyrinths and the like. It¡¯s a snare that drags you off to another floor. It was quite a large-scale trap. Indeed, to the point where it¡¯s practically a waste to place it on a back road with so few people. ¡°We¡¯re heading back. Mister Elric, come this way.¡± ¡°What happened to the others?!¡± ¡°They came along. ¡®Without losing a single person,¡¯ everyone¡¯s safe. The others are heading off towards Alec.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡± ¡°We captured the bandits too, so ¡°Who is the mastermind?¡± is something we¡¯ll know the answer to soon.¡± If I¡¯m right, he shouldn¡¯t be able to shrug it off when I say this. ¡°Shit, those useless idiots! Don¡¯t you guys come any closer!¡± ¡°sigh, so¡­ it¡¯s true?¡± That trap isn¡¯t the kind of thing that can be easily installed. Moreover, it¡¯s unbelievably inefficient to set it up on a detour route where so few people travel. In which case, the snare was probably there with us as the target. The ones who worked on it were probably some guys mister Prokel contacted when he separated from our group on that rainy day. The two days since then were probably the set-up period for the trap. ¡°You used the [Teleportation] trap to split up the group. You were going to let the inexperienced escorts get wiped out. Then, if you disguised it as a raid, the cargo would fall into your hands, is the long and short of it I think.¡± ¡°You bitch¡­¡± ¡°If mister Elric reported that you fell into a high level trap and barely escaped with your lives, then nobody would suspect you of a thing. Your reputation would fall, but you could continue being adventurers. You probably wouldn¡¯t even have a problem with the breach of contract penalty. You would have the 20,000 gold coins from among the cargo after all.¡± If we converted that to Japanese yen, it would be around 200,000,000. Split between 20 people, it would be 10,000,000 each? The profit lowers with more people, but even so that¡¯s quite the sum. You could probably easily live a life of luxury for a year. I guess in this world you could manage for 3 years? ¡°Aside from mister Elric, everyone in the merchant group would be slaughtered, and you would say that some people from your party died too. If your party are the only ones who make it back alive, then suspicions would fall on you instead, after all. Once things cool off, if they just come back and say, ¡°actually, I survived,¡± then it¡¯ll probably end with everyone being glad for you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve even¡­¡± ¡°Was Alec¡¯s survival outside of your plans? He may not look like much, but they call him ¡°The One-Armed Heavy Swordsman,¡± you know. He should be turning the tables on your buddies around now.¡± Though I don¡¯t actually know if they¡¯re alive or dead yet. When Alec doesn¡¯t have a great sword, he suddenly becomes a total wuss, so¡­ Well, my Master went after him, so I¡¯m sure everything is fine. ¡°¡±Heavy Swordsman¡±¡­ which means that other guy is ¡°Haster¡±?¡± ¡°And they call me ¡°Yuuri¡±. I¡¯m sure you know what that means.¡± The apprentice of the Wind Sage, and Alec¡¯s companion is known far and wide. Aside from mine and Alec¡¯s faces anyway. ¡°Fuck. Don¡¯t come any closer! If you come over here, who knows what¡¯ll happen to this guy!¡± ¡°Hiii?!¡± Arim takes mister Elric hostage and hides behind him. I don¡¯t have to address him as ¡°mister¡± anymore, right? ¡°I¡¯ll be disposed of by the guild if I¡¯m caught anyway! So I¡¯ll just have to show you how good I am at getting away.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s already impossible.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t know unless I try it. Your magic, or my sword, wanna test which one is faster?¡± ¡°At this distance it would overwhelmingly be my magic.¡± ¡°Except¡­ if my target is this man¡¯s neck, that¡¯s a different story.¡± It¡¯s impossible to miss the magic circle that appears when a spell is activated. With that time, it would be easy to slit mister Elric¡¯s throat with the sword pointed at it. Thinking normally anyway¡­ ¡°Certainly, if it¡¯s his life that¡¯s on the line, then you will probably be faster.¡± ¡°Heh, which means¡­¡± ¡°However, I have no need to go along with your bargaining.¡± ¡°Yo-you¡¯re going to abandon him?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m begging you, save¡­ Hii!¡± ¡°Please, relax. Miss Leche made a request. Of course I¡¯ll save you.¡± Saying that, I remove my [glasses] slowly, making no sudden movements. And then¡­ the moment I removed my glasses, all reason disappeared from their eyes. With the effects of ¡°Golden Ratio¡± released, the fascination effect left them without a single thought. Not about hostages, or escape, or gold¡­ with their restraint torn, all their thoughts disappear, and the only thing left in their minds is an insatiable lust for me. In a practical sense, the fascination effect happens immediately, but it takes tens of seconds for their restraint to go away completely. Except, those effected by fascination can¡¯t take their eyes away, and if they can¡¯t take their eyes away, then before long they fall into insanity. This gift has that vicious cycle within it. ¡°Aa, aaaa¡­ AAAAaaaaAAAAAaaaa!!¡± Raising an idiotic groan, Arim pushes mister Elric away. Without thinking about anything, he comes this way to attack me. Well, without ¡°being able to think¡± about anything I guess? ¡°Uwah! What the?!¡± With the abrupt change in situation, mister Bhav hurriedly brings his sword into a stance. Why were you sitting here relaxing? Mister Elric was also fascinated, and after being pushed down, he got back up and started running this way. I¡¯ll extend my apologies, but I have to take him down too. Using wind, I lower the atmospheric pressure, and activate a weak [Electric shock]. I throw it towards the two rushing forward to paralyze them. ¡°BUGYAN!¡± ¡°PIGYAA!¡± ¡°UGYABU!¡± The flying electric shock is led by the unsheathed sword. Three people, three screams. And convulsions. Ah¡­ it¡¯s because you took your sword out, mister Bhav¡­ ~*~ ¡°That was horrible¡­ my body is still tingling.¡± ¡°Look, I¡¯m really sorry about that.¡± After that, I tied up Arim and we went back to the meet-up point while mister Bhav carried him. He¡¯s been lodging complaints about how I got him caught up in the spell like this the whole way. ¡°I figured, since it¡¯s Yuuri we¡¯re talking about, she would do something klutzy. So you damaged your allies this time?¡± ¡°It was an unavoidable accident.¡± ¡°Certainly, it was unavoidable¡­ since it was an attack from behind.¡± ¡°I¡¯M SORRY!¡± Mister Bhav had my Master¡¯s healing spell (experimental type) cast on him, and is recovering now. For mister Elric, I cast my healing spell (also experimental) on him for his recovery. ¡°Who would have thought the Vultures would be in cahoots with bandits.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, they¡¯ve been adventurers for 10 years, and the reason they got stuck half-way in the ranks is because they had a lot of failed requests.¡± ¡°Sounds like they have a lot of other crimes.¡± We piled all the luggage on to one carriage, and after tying Arim and the surviving bandits up, we tossed them into the empty carriage. With Alec and my Master watching over them, we resumed our journey. We should reach the border checkpoint in about a day, so we¡¯ll have to put up with them until then. Thanks to that, Marle and I have to walk, but we all agreed, ¡°We don¡¯t have any food to give to bandits!¡± As such, we disposed of one porter¡¯s worth of luggage, so we¡¯ll call it even. We¡¯ll be giving only water to the bandits for 2 days. ¡°So, the road over here will work, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, the mountain road is close to here, so¡­¡± We were following a detour path around the mountain, but the other end of the [teleporter] was a place close to the mountain road, and so that became the shortest route. Incidentally, we came across their hideout and collected their loot, so our wallets instantly recovered. ¡°Jewels, weapons, gold coins¡­ I guess they wouldn¡¯t really have much use for drills or other mining tools.¡± ¡°Looks like roughly 1000 gold coins?¡± ¡°Splitting it evenly, we¡¯d each get 125 gold coins¡­? Wow.¡± ¡°Is it really alright to split it evenly? Anyone can see that you guys played a more active role here.¡± ¡°Yeah, we don¡¯t mind. As long as we raise enough for our travel expenses, we won¡¯t have any problems.¡± The members of Forest Bear shivered a bit in the face of a never before seen big haul. Anyway, why did we omit Marle¡¯s portion of the spoils? Not that it¡¯s a big deal. We agreed that any ¡°loot¡± we won halfway through is the property of the adventurers, so the property of the bandits was divided between us. Anyway, as porters we had no rights to the goods, but of course with how active a role we played, they weren¡¯t going to say, ¡°You guys don¡¯t get any part of this!¡± And, in fact¡ª ¡°Sir Alec, are your injuries alright? Should I hold your luggage for you?¡± ¡°Uhh no, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°I never would have guessed that you were THE ¡°Heavy Swordsman¡± Alec! I apologize for being so disrespectful to you up until now!¡± ¡°Yeah, I really don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°By the way Alec, want to try crossing swords with me once?¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll take a rain check.¡± Mister Jack started worshiping Alec, calling him big bro, which just seems abnormal if you see it without any context. He¡¯s at least 5 years older after all. It seems that mister Kale wants to try having a match with Alec, and has been making that request a number of times. And then there¡¯s¡ª ¡°Master Haster. About the efficient transmission of magical power for [Light arrow], I¡¯d like to ask¡­¡± ¡°Aaah, I¡¯m on vacation right now, so¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, come on Oreas. By the mister Haster, what are your plans in Solkalis? If it¡¯s alright with you, could we have dinner¡ª¡° ¡°FUSHAA¡ª¡ª!!¡± Mister Oreas is bombarding my Master with questions, miss Bella is trying to seduce him, and I¡¯m trying to make them back off from this intimidating situation. Marle is being pampered on miss Leche¡¯s lap, where she¡¯s sitting to make more room in the carriage. Miss Leche, stop it with the occasional looks in my direction. Even like this, I¡¯m actually an adult, so please don¡¯t expect me to sit on your lap. And actually, don¡¯t touch me¡­ ¡°Oh right, Yuuri.¡± ¡°hm, what is it?¡± ¡°Thanks. About the great sword. Enchanting it for me.¡± In any case, that¡¯s a top secret matter, so we disposed of mister Jack¡¯s sword. Right now he¡¯s carrying a spare great sword that we found in the bandits¡¯ hideout. To the unusually meek attitude that Alec is showing¡ª ¡°¡­ But of course.¡± I said, as I stuck my chest out. The next day we arrived at the Novelius border city, Rahon, without any trouble along the way. With this, our journey is half-way over. --------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: The bandit section ends here. A new development begins next. Chapter 31: The City’s Troubles Chapter 31: The City¡¯s Troubles Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations ¡°At last, we¡¯re at the border city! But doesn¡¯t it seem like there¡¯s some heaviness in the air?¡± ¡°Quiet over there. Calm down and line up.¡± Rahon doubles as a border checking station, so anyone entering or leaving is subject to a thorough inspection. You might even say the long queue in front of the gate is the local specialty. ¡°We are not inside yet, but the city seems kind of dead, Master.¡± ¡°I recall it being much more lively in the past, too.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. When I passed through here half a year ago, it was pretty crowded. I wonder if something happened?¡± According to mister Elric¡¯s information, it seems this town was flourishing. Let¡¯s wait a bit, and ask about the situation here after we¡¯ve handed Arim and his bandits over. ¡°What¡¯s up with these guys?¡± ¡°These folks were robbing people on the mountain road to the south. When we were attacked, our escorts here turned on us.¡± ¡°Aah, I¡¯d heard there were bandits there. We couldn¡¯t find ¡¯em when we searched.¡± ¡°We also investigated their headquarters, so we should have them all rounded up. We¡¯ll tell you where it¡¯s at, so you can check¡­ also, they were using a vicious trap.¡± ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve been through a lot. I¡¯ll dispatch some soldiers to check the area. We appreciate your cooperation.¡± Mister Elric and the gatekeeper continue the bandit hand off, and then they¡¯re checking our border passes. While that¡¯s happening, my Master asks a idle-looking soldier about the situation here. ¡°It would seem the city isn¡¯t very lively, did something happen?¡± ¡°Aah, there¡¯s a bit of an epidemic, an illness going around. It¡¯s not dangerous, but¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s something to worry about for us travelers. What kind of illness?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Randa fever.¡± Randa fever is a sickness with symptoms of fever, sweating, fatigue, and some paralysis of the limbs. If you contract a high fever from the sickness while lying in bed, then you won¡¯t be able to move. The most important characteristic of this illness is that it has a low mortality rate, but it has a long duration. Sleeping normally will eventually heal it, but in that case it¡¯ll take almost a month of staying in bed. During that time, the sufferer wouldn¡¯t be able to move, so if there¡¯s nobody around to take care of them, then they won¡¯t even be able to have meals. It seems there are many cases of people growing weak and then dying from it. Since it¡¯s also pretty contagious, it¡¯s important to watch out for it, but¡­ if I¡¯m not mistaken, wasn¡¯t there a special medicine for it? ¡°If it¡¯s Randa fever, then shouldn¡¯t some dried and infused zipacna leaves cure it in less than 3 days? And I¡¯m pretty sure there are plenty of those trees in this area, aren¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s plenty of them on the mountainside just north of the city. ¡­ The problem is, a flying dragon is taking residence there.¡± ¡°Flying dragon?!¡± IT¡¯S HERE! It¡¯s a wyvern, a WYVERN! I have the chance to see this classic part of a fantasy with my very own eyes! ¡°If we aren¡¯t careful going near it, it¡¯ll roast us with its ridiculous fire and then eat us¡­ On top of that, when we sent for reinforcements, they ended up contracting Randa fever too.¡± ¡°You¡­ have my condolences¡­¡± ¡°To get rid of the dragon, we have to call for help. When we call people for help, they contract the illness. If they contract the illness then we need the medicine. And the dragon is in the way of getting the medicine¡­ It¡¯s an absolute nightmare.¡± Yeesh, that¡¯s a pretty vicious cycle. ¡°But you can¡¯t take it easy with a wyvern near the city, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, we have to keep a 24 hour watch, we have to regularly patrol to check on the ill, and we have to give everyone crossing the border a thorough inspection. It¡¯s rough.¡± ¡°What about the adventurers? Wouldn¡¯t there be some who are raring to take on a wyvern?¡± ¡°They would get a lot of money for killing it. But we don¡¯t have anyone who can take it on in the area right now.¡± ¡°I see, and they aren¡¯t gonna come by when there¡¯s a disease going around¡­¡± Isn¡¯t this a little much? If a flying dragon invades the town to cause a bunch of destruction, the whole place could be ruined. Well, with this being a key point on the border, the national army could probably move to exterminate it as a last resort¡­ ¡°What, is that all? It¡¯ll be fine. In that case we can¡ªHEBUCH!¡± With Jack getting carried away, remarking that they¡¯ll handle it, he was beaten up by miss Bella. If it was you guys alone, then you¡¯d be going to your deaths. ¡°The hell are you doing! We¡¯ve got¡ªGEFUH!¡± This time Alec kneed him. For what reason does he think my master used a pseudonym? What a dimwit! ¡°Haa, why did we make this idiot our leader again¡­?¡± ¡°You have my sympathies.¡± To be honest, I think mister Oreas should be the leader, but¡­ while thinking that, when I asked the man in question¡­ ¡°I¡¯m the secret mastermind.¡± Is what he said. So in the end¡­ ~*~ While we were doing that, mister Elric finished with the procedures and came back. The rest of us also presented our identification, and were allowed to enter the gate. Marle, who didn¡¯t have an ID, had one made for her right there. Entering the city, we left our carriages at the inn. We were dismissed for some free time until our departure the day after tomorrow. Since we were traveling by carriage without a roof over our heads, we¡¯re spending a day here to relieve our fatigue. The inn was mister Elric¡¯s recommendation and everyone is staying there. ¡°Mister Haster, let¡¯s go sightseeing, come on!¡± ¡°Sir Alec, want to take a look around the city?¡± ¡°Absolutely not! Master is going sightseeing with me!¡± ¡°We could all go to¡­¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± For some reason my master was speaking nonsense, so the three of us quipped at him. ¡°When a woman is inviting you out, ¡®let¡¯s all go¡¯ is the worst response you could give, mister Haster.¡± ¡°Ah, well then, I¡¯ll be heading out with sir Alec.¡± ¡°Take care, Marle. Now Master, do you intend to make me walk around alone? Not to brag, but I¡¯m confident that I¡¯ll be kidnapped by slave traders or the like if I walk around alone, you know?¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯m heading out with Marle. We¡¯ll be back by dinner!¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re headin¡¯ out sir Alec? Should I accompany you?¡± ¡°You stay put, got it¡­?¡± Th-that last line, spoken in a voice filled with intimidation, was that Marle¡­? I got some goosebumps there. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go mister Haster. There¡¯s a great cafe just a little ways from here, shall we?¡± ¡°Uhh, but¡­¡± ¡°Ab-so-lute-ly not!¡± ¡°Oh, then how about going with me? It¡¯s just about lunch time.¡± ¡°What are you bouncing in here for, mister Kale¡­¡± ¡°Wait a- You¡¯re gonna stretch my clothes! Stop pulling me!¡± All of a sudden, mister Kale left the room, dragging miss Bella along with him. I¡¯ll have to buy him a drink later. You have my appreciation. ¡°Well then, Master, shall we?¡± ¡°S-sure¡­¡± ¡°¡­ eh, does that mean I have to take care of Jack?¡± ¡°The hell do you mean take care¡­ I¡¯m perfectly fine on my¡ª¡° ¡°If we leave you alone then you¡¯ll start bragging about certain topics and bring trouble on us, won¡¯t you?!¡± ¡°What ¡®certain topics¡¯? The sage of wind¡ªGUHAA!¡± I sent out a [Wind bullet] that wouldn¡¯t injure the bird brain who immediately made a slip of the tongue. But it seems like mister Bhav is one of those types¡­ the kind of person who always meets with misfortune. The scout being unfortunate is a bit worrisome. It seems like he¡¯s interested in miss Bella, so I think he should just invite her out. For my sake too. ~*~ And so, together with my master, we went to the tool shop. Why the tool shop, you ask? We were thinking of having them buy a magic tool that we thought up and made during our journey. ¡°Which is this stone here.¡± ¡°Sir, I¡¯m not interested in buying rocks¡­¡± ¡°Wait, this isn¡¯t an ordinary rock. Look, there¡¯s this pattern carved on the surface.¡± ¡°Indeed¡­ is this a magic circle?¡± ¡°Yep, this is actually a magic tool. When you say the magic word, it emits light. ¡®Oh light, shine¡¯.¡± At my master¡¯s words, the rock lit up, and the inside of the shop was brightly illuminated. The light it gives off is brighter than a torch, but not enough to hurt the eyes. ¡°Ohh, my my¡­¡± ¡°It can be used in homes, and if you throw it in a lantern it can even be used on adventures. Using the magic word once will make it light up for 6 hours, and it should last about 100 uses before the magic runs out.¡± ¡°If the price is kept low, then it will be very convenient.¡± ¡°The catalyst is a simple stone, so all we need to do is carve the circle in and give it some magic power. And since the magic power required isn¡¯t very much¡­ how about 50 silver coins?¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty cheap for a magic tool. However, to put it into the hands of ordinary households¡­ I would like to keep the selling price down to that level.¡± The [Ball of light] magic tool is equivalent to 5000 Japanese yen? Well, it¡¯s a product that my master can make in 30 minutes of manual work, and the materials are free. By the way, I can make one of them in less than 5 minutes with my ¡®burning the circle in¡¯ method. The homes of this world are lit by candles and lamps, so if they can get 6 hours of light for this price, it goes into the unbelievably cheap class of goods. ¡°In that case, how about I take 60% of that and get 30 coins for it?¡± ¡°Very well. How many of these products do you have?¡± ¡°All together, we made about 200 of them.¡± Doing that, we obtained 60 gold coins of pocket change. It¡¯s hard to put this on the level of pocket change though? ~*~ With our substantial income in hand, we went to a nearby sidewalk cafe for lunch, where I sat happily together with my master. I had wild vegetable pasta. My master had some kind of grilled rice dish that looked kind of like¡­ paella? Somehow it seems like he¡¯s having less than usual, but I guess he¡¯s fine with it. ¡°Master, if we did something like this in the first place, then we would have avoided getting involved in all this.¡± ¡°Ahh, don¡¯t say that. This is an item we wouldn¡¯t have thought of if we weren¡¯t on a journey without a place to stay.¡± Fire is convenient of course, but light is definitely necessary at night. That¡¯s why, instead of striking the flint over and over and over again for 10 minutes, saying some magic words to light up the surroundings is much more convenient. If you think about it, as magicians, at the cottage we could say a single word and have all the [Balls of light] that we needed. And for fire we used [Heat balls], so you could say our utility costs were practically nothing. So up until now we never even realized that an item like this would be necessary. ¡°In any case, for it to be this deserted at this time of day¡­ I guess it¡¯s pretty bad here, huh?¡± ¡°Indeed. I guess we¡¯ve got the place to ourselves.¡± There¡¯s barely even a shadow of a person in our surroundings, even in a sidewalk cafe with as bright an atmosphere as this one. Moreover, many of the surrounding shops are closed. It¡¯s practically one step away from a ghost town. ¡°Master, I want to try looking for the wyvern.¡± ¡°That¡¯s rather sudden¡­ well, turning a blind eye to them is weighing on my conscience too.¡± ¡°And I hear wyvern scales are a great material.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your reason?¡± That¡¯s an important point for a magical engineer you know? ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ I guess tomorrow we¡¯ll invite Alec along and take a look?¡± ¡°Have you ever fought a wyvern before, Master?¡± ¡°Many times. Well, it¡¯s not even hard for me to win against something like that.¡± ¡°Oooh, just what I¡¯d expect.¡± ¡°I can fly too, so that takes away their biggest advantage.¡± ¡°I see, so fly-by attacks don¡¯t work on you.¡± ¡°You can do the same thing you know¡­ cough¡± Hm, Master, isn¡¯t your face red? ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong? Your face is kind of red.¡± ¡°Just, a little dizzy¡­ ah, the ground is shaking¡­?¡± ¡°Master?!¡± And with that, my master collapsed. --------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: Maybe I should have called this the Rahon arc? T/L: Slow translation because bingeing on Tensei Oujo wa Kyou mo Hata wo Tatakioru. On another note: YAY, DRAGON! Chapter 32: Time to Exterminate a Wyvern Chapter 32: Time to Exterminate a Wyvern Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations ¡°Miss Bella, I need help! It¡¯s my master! Master is¡­ BWAaaaAAAaaah!¡± Using [Body Reinforcement] to raise my strength, I half-carried half-dragged my master back to the inn, then asked miss Bella for assistance while crying. For some reason there was a crowd of people gathering in front of the inn, but I scattered them without worrying about it. ¡°GUEEH!¡± ¡°Oh my, mister Haster too? Anyway, lay him down in this bed over here. And then calm down a bit. You¡¯re stepping on sir Alec.¡± ~*~ The inn turned into quite the disaster scene. Aside from my master, Marle, mister Bhav, and miss Leche are all showing signs that they caught Randa fever. Apparently when Marle suddenly collapsed, Alec also came back in a panic. We set aside a quarantine room for my master and the others, and let them rest there. ¡°Miss Bella, can¡¯t you use healing magic to like, make a flash of light and cure them?¡± ¡°Curing illnesses is much more difficult than wounds¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± Miss Bella shakes her head in response to Alec¡¯s question. The foundational ideas of healing magic; returning things to their ¡®original state¡¯, or ¡®promoting natural recovery¡¯, will heal traumatic injuries. In the case of illness, there¡¯s a problem. If the body is returned to its original form, then the germs will also be restored. If natural recovery is increased, then likewise the germs will also have their recovery increased. A high ranking magic user would be able to exclude the germs from the effects of the spell and cure them, but miss Bella doesn¡¯t seem to have that ability yet. ¡°It looks like the people who aren¡¯t particularly fit are all lined up here. Though it¡¯s surprising that mister Haster contracted it.¡± ¡°Master has been prone to illness lately¡­¡± ¡°And you still let him be a baggage carrier? Incidentally, I am surprised that you¡¯re still healthy, young lady.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the effect of a gift.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re a gift holder¡­?¡± Ah, I thoughtlessly spilled the beans on that one, but maybe that¡¯s alright? Well, on top of not saying anything about what the gift is, the only one I revealed was the gift that keeps me from getting sick, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine. Moreover, it¡¯s the battle maniac Kale that I¡¯m talking to anyway. ¡°Having even the wife fall ill puts us in a pickle. But it¡¯s not like we can eat up a whole month stuck here¡­¡± ¡°You say that, but even so we¡¯re down one man in our party. And above that, with even mister Haster out of the picture, we couldn¡¯t even finish the journey!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll say this now: I have no intention of leaving my master here, got it?¡± In response to mister Oreas¡¯ remarks, I make an immediate correction. Along with the high fever, Randa fever also causes paralysis of the limbs. If we bring them along on the journey, then it would sharply increase our burden. ¡°So basically, we would have to defend two carriages with a fighting force of five people. Yep, that¡¯s a bad idea.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s put in a request at the guild over here. With all that happened with the Vultures, we should be able to shuffle some new people in¡­ though it¡¯ll probably be impossible to get people as strong as they were.¡± ¡°Who cares either way. If we can¡¯t cure these guys, then we can¡¯t go anywhere, right?¡± Even someone like Jack grasps the heart of the issue. Of course I don¡¯t intend on leaving my master¡¯s illness alone either. I originally planned on inspecting it, but with this happening, I am now fully prepared. ¡°¡­ Alec. I am going to go defeat the wyvern tomorrow.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± ¡°With that thing gone, master and the city¡¯s people can be cured. It¡¯s the one powering this vicious cycle, and what established it in the first place. If I cut it off somewhere, then it¡¯ll stop.¡± ¡°Say what you like, but without master there¡­ wait, if you use your ¡®Charrjed Partical Kanon¡¯ thing then maybe it¡¯ll work?¡± My master assured me that if my immense firepower hits, then even a dragon wouldn¡¯t come away unscathed. Indeed, if I hit it first with a big skill, then I¡¯ll have a good chance of winning. ¡°Hold on a second, no matter what the circumstances, doing it alone is just absurd. I¡¯m going too!¡± ¡°Unfortunately mister Kale, you would do poorly against it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?!¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge the wyvern¡¯s attacks with that heavy armor. And according to what they say, it breathes fire too, you know?¡± ¡°Certainly, if he can¡¯t get away when it breathes fire down on him, then he¡¯ll end up as barbecue.¡± Mister Kale has an overwhelming deficiency in mobility after all. Moreover¡­ ¡°That¡¯s not all. Our objective for this has to be the zipacna leaves that we will use as medicine. If it sends fire towards the ground, then we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡± ¡°Ah, if the trees burn¡­¡± ¡°As such, I can¡¯t bring the ground fighting power of Alec along either. It¡¯ll just be me, who can use flight magic.¡± ¡°Taking a wyvern on by yourself is just stupidity!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. You know about my physical constitution, don¡¯t you? If I lose, then it¡¯ll turn into a chance to surprise it.¡± Give me an hour, and I¡¯ll come back to life. Whether I¡¯m in its stomach, or near its den, once I revive I can send a spell right into it for a preemptive victory. Even if I do fail, I¡¯m prepared to try again. ¡°Using these tactics, you¡¯d be the only one in actual danger, Alec.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s certainly¡­ true, but still!¡± ¡°This is when you should believe in your big sister, and leave everything to me!¡± Saying that, I puffed out my chest. ~*~ The next day, I was on the dragon¡¯s mountain. ¡°Tattakataa, takatakatataantatataantaan, tatataatatataataataan ?¡± Since it¡¯s a mountain, I spat out the BGM of a certain famous hunting game while climbing the mountain path. If I didn¡¯t do this, I¡¯d really get scared. The zipacna trees are supposed to be near the middle, and in their surroundings is where I¡¯ll enter the wyvern¡¯s territory. My equipment is the usual magic tank mantle, the [strength reinforcement enchanted] bracelet, and Third Eye with some iron arrows. I also prepared 3 specially processed iron arrows. It¡¯s not a major change. I just dug the spiral grooves deeper and [Enchanted] them with [Toughness]. If it was originally like a drill, then I guess these ones would be more like a mixer blade? If it¡¯s a long range shooting match, then I don¡¯t think the bow will be necessary, but I think if I use magic then my attacks will be just a step too late. My current opponent aside, since it can be immediately released as soon as it¡¯s raised, the bow ¡®if the attack goes through¡¯ could be called the optimal weapon. Perhaps these are the traces of the city dwellers¡¯ tracks. Heading in the direction of the zipacna trees is an animal trail-like path. However, there hasn¡¯t been much traffic through it recently, so it has started to disappear. Thanks to that, I managed to get to the middle without getting lost. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s not coming, huh.¡± Well this is certainly unexpected¡­ the wyvern isn¡¯t coming to attack. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m too small for it to notice or something? HAHA, yeah right. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a certain pint-sized alchemist. Anyway, being near the zipacna trees is dangerous in more than one way, so let¡¯s change locations. It¡¯ll be a problem if the trees burn. I could carry some leaves back at this point, but I don¡¯t know how much I¡¯ll be able to carry back, so it really is best that I take care of the root cause. I¡¯ll search to the top of the mountain from here. ~*~ I tried climbing to the top of the mountain, but it¡¯s still not showing up. And there¡¯s a dubious looking cave in front of me¡­ but the area around the entrance is melted into a glassy substance. It¡¯s quite large too, so I¡¯m fairly certain that this is its den. Taking up my bow, I send a [Ball of light] to the back of the cave to see ahead¡­ hmm, there¡¯s something large in the back? ¡°What is¡­?¡± Just when I was about to enter the cave¡ª A huge shadow suddenly blocked out the sunlight. ¡°GYAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡± ¡°Wha, now you show up?! Damn it all!¡± There the body of a huge serpent, exceeding 10 meters, flapped its large wings. Its dangerous eyes glared at the intruder. Its intent to attack is evident. Apparently it¡¯s going to attack without asking any questions. It rears its head back in a large motion¡­ The kind of pose that promises an incoming breath attack. In response I activate [Body Reinforcement ? Agility]. FWOOM! I felt the vibrations go down to my bones. The flames went beyond red; the blue and white flames blocked my visibility. Going into the cave¡ªwould remove any path of escape. I avoided the flames by jumping to the side. The fires chased after my initial jump. Going dozens of meters further, I finally managed to get away. ¡°Ya jerk¡­ That¡¯s really hot you know?!¡± The ground I dodged away from is red hot and melting together. Even the surrounding ground and trees that didn¡¯t get directly hit are charred. ¡ªWhat kind of ridiculous fire power is this?! I originally intended on finding it first, using [Flight], and dragging it into a mid-air shootout, too! Perhaps as a silver lining in this, since there are no zipacna trees in this area, I probably don¡¯t need to fly. Unstable footing would reduce the accuracy of my arrows after all. Activating my bracelet, I dual cast [Body Reinforcement ? Strength] at full power. This may make things difficult, but I discard my [Agility Reinforcement], and carry [Body Reinforcement ? Vitality] out to its limit. This way I can use my strength at its maximum to draw the bow¡­ In the current situation I can handle it; the strongest [Body Reinforcement]. The distance between us is less than 20 meters. I nock one of the specially processed arrows, and determine where to aim on the far too large target¡ª ¡ªHmph, if either one of us hits, then it¡¯ll be a one hit kill. Very well then¡­ I accept your challenge! Shaking with its roar, I forcibly calm my trembling arms, and draw my bow with everything I have. The black crystal, given elasticity by magic, groans and squeals. The effect of these arrows won¡¯t show through with any half-baked strength, so it has to be fully drawn. As if in response, the wyvern rears its neck back and prepares its breath. It seems to have absolute confidence in the defensive power of its own scales. And I say that¡¯s just self-conceit! ¡ªMy aim: the head! ¡°GURUAAAAAAAAA!¡± Flames burst forth together with its roar. The iron arrow flies straight into it. With the repulsive force from Third Eye, the arrow launched at a speed far surpassing sound, and with the grooves carved into it, spiraled through the air¡ª ¡ªAnd scattered the flames! Incidentally, the resulting shock wave kicked back, and I was also blown away. ~*~ ¡°GASP! HAA¡ª, haa¡ª¡­ cough, cough¡± Just as planned, it looks like I successfully scattered his breath¡­ but because of the sudden burst of wind it made, there was a lot of air pressure, and I couldn¡¯t breathe. And it looks like I passed out for a little while? Also, I¡¯m gonna keep it a secret that I peed myself a little¡­ if this keeps up, they¡¯ll start calling me leaky. In a urinary meaning. ¡°Cough, cough¡­ that was¡­ dangerous¡­ almost¡­ suffocated.¡± The purpose of these arrows is to scatter its breath by creating a vortex in the atmosphere. And then, by causing the wind to blow out and come right back in succession, it was going to stop the wyvern in its tracks. And while it was stuck there, I planned on blasting it with magic, but¡ªwith how I flung myself back, I couldn¡¯t really use magic at that point. I guess I can call this one a failure? ¡°What happened to¡­ the wyvern?¡± Shaking my dizzied head, I looked up, and saw the fallen corpse of the wyvern there with its head blown away. Its long neck was torn to bits part way through. The wind from the spiral exceeding the speed of sound caused a shock wave, the point of impact carved out a huge area, and it must have been entirely scooped away. ¡°Whoa¡­ this is unexpected.¡± By the looks of it, an area of about 5 meters is hollowed out. Could it be that I¡¯ve created a weapon of mass destruction? A-anyway¡­ as expected, not having a head should mean instant death. All that¡¯s left is to investigate that large something inside what appears to be its den. ~*~ ¡°I¡¯m baaaack¡ª¡° ¡°Yuuri! I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re all¡­ right¡­ what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°¡­ an egg?¡± --------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: Yuuri¡¯s SO STROOONK mode is activating Chapter 33: The Dragon’s Egg Chapter 33: The Dragon¡¯s Egg Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Thunk. I placed as many leaves as I could carry, and the egg, on a table. ¡°With just this much, we should have enough for 4 people. Also, I left the wyvern¡¯s corpse up there, so we can go collect it together later.¡± ¡°Yuuri¡­¡± ¡°I wonder which part of it is the most valuable. I¡¯m getting so excited!¡± ¡°Hey¡­¡± ¡°By the way, where I left the wyvern is a secret! I made sure to freeze it and seal it away, so there¡¯s no rush, okay?¡± ¡°What¡¯s with the egg?¡± ¡°¡­ Maybe it¡¯s the reason the wyvern built that nest?¡± Right, so in other words that wyvern probably put its nest near the city to breed. The reason it never attacked the city is so it could keep an eye on its egg. And it attacked anyone who got close to protect the egg. And also¡­ when the egg hatches, this nearby city would be its food. It was scheming to use this city of Rahon as a feed box. ¡°A feed box, huh. It would certainly require a small army to take down a wyvern after all.¡± ¡°With the country in its current state, it¡¯s exactly like a feed box.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Mister Kale and miss Bella nod as if they comprehend it. Alec, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re tired¡­ from inflated thinking. ¡°Right, so when it comes to wyverns, the fangs and horns make for good weapon materials, and I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re good magic catalysts too. You¡¯ve got your pockets pretty full right now, so would you give us some of the materials?¡± Mister Oreas made his offer. Hearing the contents of his request, my eyes swim around against my will. ¡°Uhh¡­ when you say fangs and horns, you mean the ones on the head¡­ right?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve heard many stories of them being somewhere else.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, they¡¯re gone. I blew them away.¡± ¡°HUH?¡± Mister Oreas, who¡¯s usually the type to play it cool, put an unusually idiotic expression on his face. ¡°When I shot it at full power with Third Eye¡­ its entire head was torn to pieces.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­what?¡± ¡°When it comes to Yuuri, you should just be glad the whole thing wasn¡¯t vaporized.¡± Alec, you¡¯ve got some really inflated thoughts in that head of yours. When it comes to wyverns, normally they¡¯re protected by scales so tough that even swords don¡¯t get through you know? Moreover, with their strong resistance to fire, typical magic attacks like [Fireball] won¡¯t even leave a scratch on those monsters. ¡°The wings, scales, and flesh were fine, so maybe you could do something with those¡­¡± ¡°W-well, what¡¯s gone is gone, right?¡± For some reason, cold sweat seems to be pouring off of mister Oreas. You don¡¯t have to be that scared, do you? ¡°HAH, a little shrimp like you took down a wyvern? You expect anyone to believe that?!¡± Jumping into the conversation came a loud and hoarse voice. Uh oh, a rough looking character in leather armor came to give us a hard time. The very definition of a hooligan-like adventurer. Come to think of it, this is the inn¡¯s dining room. There are a lot of people whose companions fell ill and are stuck here, so this is where they¡¯re all crowded together. And there are quite the number of people with their attention directed this way¡­ I unconsciously held down my glasses. ¡°It¡¯s probably a winged lizard¡¯s egg that you picked up on the roadside, and you¡¯re just trying to make it more valuable, aren¡¯t you?¡± Mister hooligan flung his arms wide to make his case. Winged lizards inhabit the entire continent, and are a kind of lizard that grow to have a wingspan of roughly 50cm~1m. Special note: they¡¯re delicious. There¡¯s no reason we need to deal with this guy. We lightly shrug our shoulders and continue our conversation. ¡°So, Yuuri, why did you bring the egg back with you? That¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°Well uhh¡­ just try touching it.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°You bitch¡­ don¡¯t you ignore me!¡± Is something bothering you, mister easily excited hooligan? Seriously, what do you want? Aggressively walking up behind me, he roughly puts a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Listen to¡ªGUAH!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t touch me¡­!¡± I promptly invoke [Telekinesis] and force his extended right arm to drop away. It hits the table with a thud. At the same time I activate [Body Reinforcement ? Strength], pull an iron arrow from the quiver on my back, and pin the shoulder pad of his leather armor to the table with it. Oops, it went through the table too¡­ oh well. ¡°Lemme go, the hell are you doi¡­ GUAaaa!¡± ¡°Please quiet down.¡± It¡¯s afternoon right now. It hasn¡¯t been that long since I hunted the wyvern, so I¡¯m still in a pretty violent mood. He¡¯s still chirping, so I used [Telekinesis] to lightly squeeze his head. [Telekinesis] uses magic power as the basis of its strength. My magic power is nothing to laugh at, so using that power to grab someone¡¯s skull¡­ I¡¯m sure that¡¯ll hurt, right? ¡°Butting into someone else¡¯s conversation is bad manners, you know?¡± ¡°I-I got it! It was my bad, just¡­!¡± He gave an apology, so I released his head. Do something about your shoulder on your own, please. In the surroundings I can see what seem to be his companions with weapons drawn. Alec and mister Kale kept them in check. Alec has a newly purchased bastard sword lowered at his waist. ¡°Shit, I can¡¯t get it out! It¡¯s all the way through the table?! What ridiculous strength!¡± Mister hoodlum flails around at the table. Probably thinking it was a nuisance, Alec pulled out the arrow and shoved him back towards his companions. ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of a very important discussion. I¡¯ll have you refrain from adding any nonsense to it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really mind going at it with someone though.¡± ¡°Leave off it, you probably just planned on giving me the leftovers anyway.¡± In response to Alec¡¯s threatening statement, mister Kale gave a vicious smile, and instead of thinking about where we are, mister Jack seems to be in a frenzy. Seeing my companions so ready to go at it, all my motivation actually seemed to fall away. ¡°I don¡¯t really mind, he didn¡¯t intend on nabbing me from the side. Anyway Alec, touch the egg. Come on, come on!¡± ¡°Al-alright¡­?¡± With a question mark floating above his head, he put his hand on the egg, and his expression immediately tightened up. He probably noticed the constant drumming coming from inside the shell. ¡°Yuuri, isn¡¯t this?!¡± ¡°Yes, it looks like it is going to hatch soon. That egg.¡± ¡°HeeEEY! Isn¡¯t that thing really dangerous then?!¡± Please don¡¯t talk like you¡¯re some kind of knight, Jack. ¡°Well it¡¯s not like it has done anything wrong when it hasn¡¯t even hatched. And I¡¯ve heard that wyverns aren¡¯t all the intelligent, so I was thinking maybe he¡¯ll get emotionally attached to me¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bring back dangerous creatures just to satisfy your curiosity! How did you even get it through the gate?!¡± ¡°I flew over it.¡± I gave him a thumbs up and a smile worthy of a shining sound effect. ¡°But is it really alright to bring something so dangerous here when mister Haster can¡¯t do anything¡­?¡± ¡°Miss Bella¡­ I¡¯m the one following in his footsteps you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, but you don¡¯t look that way.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t that the truth!¡± Isn¡¯t this person being really disrespectful to me? And Alec¡¯s agreement must mean he needs some punishment later. Anyway, for now I protect the egg behind my back and refute miss Bella. ¡°Anyway, if this little one causes any trouble, then we¡¯ll deal with it when¡ª¡° Crack ¡°What?¡± ¡°Agya?¡± When I turned around, there were cute, round eyes there. From the cracked egg, only the neck stuck out as it looked towards me, with a clearly reptilian face. ¡°I-it HAAAAAATCHED!¡± ¡°UWAAAAAAAA!!¡± In response to my delighted scream, the inn¡¯s customers rushed out like water from a broken dam. Before us is what looks like a flooded doorway, which will seem humorous if I think back on it later. But my only thought at that moment was¡ª ¡ªOh, it¡¯s a dine and dash. As if this was just another ordinary day¡¯s occurrence. ~*~ ¡°And that¡¯s what happened, master.¡± ¡°I see, so that¡¯s what the winged lizard-like thing riding on your head is?¡± When I went to the sickroom to nurse my master, I started by explaining the current situation. He¡¯s conscious again, but he can¡¯t move his limbs, and it looks like the fever is giving him trouble. ¡°So, can I keep it?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°WHAAAAAT!¡± ¡°Is what I want to say, but you¡¯re the ¡®sage¡¯ right now. If you take responsibility for raising him, nobody will complain.¡± Just what I¡¯d expect from my master, I understand what he¡¯s saying. I originally planned to domesticate it, but wyverns appear to have similar traits to birds. With me being the first person it saw, it imprinted me as its mother. Its now completely attached to me, and is snoozing on top of my head. It¡¯s heavy¡­ what will I do if I get any shorter than I already am? ¡°Well, there are stories of knights riding on the back of wyverns too. So then, shouldn¡¯t you be going to dismantle the parent¡¯s corpse?¡± ¡°I¡¯m worn out for the day, so I will go tomorrow. I cast [Freeze] on it to keep it from rotting, and threw it in a cave.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t someone snatch it away? It¡¯s a valuable corpse.¡± ¡°I collapsed the cave¡¯s entrance, baked it together, and cast [Toughness] on it, so I¡¯m sure the only human being who can get in or out of it is me.¡± I have experience taking down stuff like keratoses and bears and leaving them for a day. They end up being torn apart by wild dogs, or taken home by hunters in the area, so I made sure to cover that base perfectly. But I made sure to spread the information that the wyvern was defeated, so right now everyone in town should be going to collect zipacna leaves. ¡°Your medicine is in the drying process right now, master, so it should be ready tomorrow.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°And with that said, please open wide and say ¡®aaah¡¯.¡± ¡°Why has it come to this?¡± In my lap right now is my master¡¯s meal; porridge. Since my master can¡¯t move his limbs, I¡¯m feeding him, so¡­ there¡¯s nothing wrong with that, right? ¡°But you can¡¯t move your limbs yet, right? Taking care of meals is also an apprentice¡¯s responsibility.¡± ¡°This is the only time you¡¯ve been so ready to do so.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that? You want it mouth-to-mouth? That¡¯s really embarrassing. But if that¡¯s what you want, master¡­¡± ¡°ALEC, HELP ME¡ª!¡± Too bad! I had Alec go take care of Marle. Because I¡¯m a considerate older sister. ¡°Once you¡¯re done eating, I¡¯ll take care of your lower half too¡ª. You¡¯ve got a thick one, so it¡¯ll be hard to get it in a urinary bottle.¡± ¡°Stop sexually harassing me?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s your own fault for losing to this illness¡­ fufufu.¡± Actually I also handled that process yesterday. I originally had one of them, and with my experiences at Lilith I wasn¡¯t embarrassed, but touching someone else¡¯s thing just feels weird. And I think my face getting flushed is just something that happens. Is it going to bulge even more¡­? ¡°I¡¯m begging you, please stop wiggling your hands around creepily, whatever you might be thinking about.¡± ¡°Whoops¡­ anyway, if you don¡¯t hurry and eat, your porridge is gonna get cold.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± ¡°And I do have to wipe down your body, so please be prepared for that?¡± ¡°What exactly do I need to be prepared for in a sponge bath?¡± I pushed miss Bella into taking care of mister Bhav, so she won¡¯t be coming this way. By the way, it seems mister Bhav was first taken care of by mister Oreas, but instead of using a bottle, it looks like he stuck a catheter on him, and the next day he made a request in tears for a change. When having mister Jack or mister Kale take care of him was suggested, he wholeheartedly refused, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t even joke, I¡¯ll die!¡± So by process of elimination, miss Bella is now in charge. ¡°Maybe it would have been fine not to get the medicine¡ª?¡± ¡°That¡¯s disturbing, don¡¯t say that.¡± That was briskly muttered while I carried food to my master¡¯s mouth. It¡¯s indiscreet, but I really do think it¡¯s unfortunate that my monopolization of my master and his nursing is going to end in a few days. This must be what it feels like when a child gets attached to a parent. I¡¯ve understood a little bit of how the wyvern hatchling on my head feels. --------------------------------------------------------------- Yuuri: ¡°¡­ I am not making a fried egg out of it.¡± Master: ¡°They¡¯re pretty delicious you know?¡± Chapter 34: The Cheats Were Spread Chapter 34: The Cheats Were Spread Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The next day I was climbing to the mountain¡¯s summit again to take apart the wyvern. To tell the truth, my leg muscles hurt terribly. The citizens took yesterday as an opportunity to collect zipacna leaves, and today they¡¯re processing the medicine, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯re busy. Today is probably the best day for keeping this out of the public eye. We claimed that the Forest Bear party and a passing magician defeated the wyvern. Forest Bear is acting as the main representatives of who took it down. Of course, handling it on their own would have been impossible, so we made up the passing magician as an anonymous ally for them. This way all the attention will be focused on the Bear party, and we can relax and continue on our trip. ¡°But is this really alright? Saying that we exterminated the wyvern.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t worry about it. You are a sacrifice for the sake of our own peace.¡± ¡°A sacrifice, you say¡­¡± ¡°Well, the public eye is a lethal weapon against Yuuri after all. If you guys act as a substitute, it¡¯ll actually be helping us out.¡± Dismantling the wyvern is going to involve some heavy lifting, so Jack, Kale, and Alec were brought along, and I¡¯m acting as the guide for those three to the actual location. Oh, right. There¡¯s one more¡­ the wyvern hatchling riding on my head is also here. Unfortunately, it hatched so suddenly that I haven¡¯t thought of a name yet. I want to give it a really cool name anyway, so I¡¯m still considering it. ¡°Alec, I¡¯m tired, can I ride on your back?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a baby. Walk on your own two feet.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d like, shall I carry you?¡± ¡°Mister Kale is the manly man I expected!¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be no problem with how light you are.¡± ¡°Kale, if you wear yourself out, then it¡¯ll be a tough trip back you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, she¡¯s way lighter than the armor I¡¯m always wearing.¡± We expect that there will be a lot to carry, so the three of them brought backpacks along. That¡¯s where I huddled up and sat inside. If you think about it, I¡¯m lighter than the luggage that my master has been carrying around. ¡°You¡¯re this light, and yet you can take down wyverns; magic must be amazing, huh.¡± ¡°Yuuri is an anomaly. She¡¯s not Master¡¯s apprentice just for show.¡± ¡°Hey, Yuuri, do you think I¡¯d be able to use magic too?¡± In response to mister Kale¡¯s admiration, mister Jack gets very into the moment. Wait, who said you could just call me ¡®Yuuri¡¯? Well, it¡¯s better than him calling me brat at least. ¡°That alone would take time, I won¡¯t know unless I investigate it. The most important thing is whether you have the talent to sense magic power or not.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve sensed it a bit before!¡± Alec puts on a bragging expression. Isn¡¯t your sensing power at the minimum? And as far as spells go, aren¡¯t [Light Arrow], [Light Ball], and a lukewarm [Heat Ball] all you can use? ¡°That¡¯s our bro Alec! Are your spells perfect too?!¡± ¡°Of course not. Alec¡¯s magic is limited to being a hobby.¡± ¡°Urk, well yeah¡­ as far as both swords and magic go, of course Master is the only one who comes to mind.¡± ¡°Because our master is a superhuman after all.¡± ¡°The little miss can¡¯t use a sword?¡± ¡°I use magic only you see? I can more or less use a bow, but with my body strength, all I can use swords for is gracelessly whacking things.¡± Martial arts would, of course, be something that takes long hours of repetitive practice. To handle weapons I need to use [Body Reinforcement], or I won¡¯t get anything from it, so I¡¯m in way short supply of those practice hours. ¡°Wow, if you¡¯d like shall I teach you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re better off not trying. Yuuri¡¯s body strength lets her move faster than the limits for human beings.¡± ¡°What the hell, that¡¯s scary.¡± For some reason Jack aimed to take a seat as my master, but Alec immediately repelled him. And besides, it¡¯s not like you guys are especially skilled anyway. ~*~ While engaging in idle chit chat, we arrived in front of the cave. It¡¯s not a particularly large mountain to begin with, so it doesn¡¯t take very long. ¡°Jeez, the heck is this¡­ Yuuri, good job on surviving.¡± ¡°Awesome! The ground is sparkling!¡± ¡°It was hot enough to turn it into glass? That ain¡¯t no joke.¡± Seeing the traces of its breath in front of the cave, the three of them let out words of admiration. Moreover, in the area where the arrow scattered its breath, black char marks can be seen scattered about. Good job being fine after that, me¡­ ¡°The wyvern¡¯s remains are behind that wall. I¡¯ll undo the seal now, so step back a bit please?¡± ¡°S-sure.¡± I remove the [Toughness] from the wall, hit it with a [Wind Bullet] to break it, and behind it a cave appeared. I carried the wyvern into the back and [Froze] it there, but¡­ ¡°Alec, take this little one. ¡­You behave, alright?¡± ¡°Migya!¡± ¡°Why? Just bring it along.¡± ¡°Mister jack, this little one¡¯s parent is back there you know? There¡¯s no way I can show it something like that.¡± ¡°Oh¡ª, right¡­ my bad.¡± He also seems to realize and admit that he made some kind of mistake. He¡¯s really growing as a person. Probably. I enter the cave and release the [Freeze]. After checking the thawed corpse, I returned to Alec and the others. ¡°Alec, the rest is up to you.¡± ¡°Yeeep, got it.¡± Saying that, I hand one of the stones with [Luminescence] carved in it over to him. A ¡®Light Stone¡¯ we called it. Alec places the wyvern on my head, and they head into the cave together. Considering its size, I suppose I¡¯ll have a bit of free time. ¡°Now then, what shall I do about your name?¡± I poke at the nose of the wyvern on my head. Let¡¯s go through some possible names and watch its reaction. ~*~ ¡°Momo¡± ((Thigh)) ¡°Migya!¡± ¡°Tebasaki¡± ((Chicken Wing)) ¡°Agya?¡± ¡°Ponjiri¡± ((Chicken Tail)) ¡°Mugyu~¡± ¡°Negima¡± ((Chicken and spring onions)) ¡°Yuuri, what¡¯re you doing?¡± Did they finish dismantling it? Alec came out. Whoa, he¡¯s covered in blood. ¡°I was thinking of names to give this little one. But he¡¯s not really responding well to any of them.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m well aware that you have horrible taste in names.¡± ¡°Shut up. How does it look in there?¡± ¡°Though it¡¯s not the worst, it¡¯s hard and the blades aren¡¯t going through very well. If we want to dismantle it, then we¡¯ll need some better tools.¡± ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll have to divide it into several parts and come collect those?¡± I want to bring some of its meat home, even if it¡¯s just a little bit. I want to try dragon steak at least once. ¡°For starters, freeze the cuts for us. Blood is pouring everywhere from it.¡± ¡°Mister Jack, you sure don¡¯t give anyone a break, do you? And it seems the dragon-types have magic power hidden in their blood, so please fill up some of the water bags with its blood if you could.¡± ¡°Sure thing, the amount of blood isn¡¯t going to decrease anyway.¡± ¡°It will decrease! Actually, present progressive form: it IS decreasing you know?!¡± In the end, the knives we brought broke, and we don¡¯t have anything left to use, so we had to make a fresh start of it. Rather, maybe it would be best if I use [Telekinesis] and carry the corpse to the city? ¡°¡­ Do you think it would be best if we bring the corpse back to the city and dismantle it there?¡± ¡°Hmmm, if we do that, then it¡¯ll become an instant spectacle though.¡± ¡°We still can¡¯t go anywhere for a few days anyway. Shouldn¡¯t we just make the trip a few times?¡± ¡°I personally don¡¯t have the stamina for that.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t Kale carry you?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you carry her?!¡± Jack and Kale are teasing each other as usual. Maybe they have too much stamina left over? I want to use everything other than its flesh for manufacturing, so if possible I¡¯d rather not sell it. I do still have the income from the bandit extermination, so maybe I¡¯ll procure a large carriage for this thing? If I do that, then our caravan will become 3 carriages, but¡­ well, it should be fine. ¡°When we get back, I¡¯ll have to get mister Elric¡¯s permission to increase the number of carriages.¡± ¡°Yuuri, you plan on bringing this thing back?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I could abandon such good materials, is there?! I¡¯ll even make weapons for Alec and mister Kale!¡± ¡°Seriously?!¡± ¡°Me too?!¡± ¡°Not you, mister Jack.¡± ¡°Aw, come on¡­¡± Said mister Kale in delight, and mister Jack who looks like he¡¯s seriously going to cry. It¡¯s just a joke! Please, you¡¯re an adult, don¡¯t cry. ¡°With that as a joke¡­ making that as well, I also want somewhere to manufacture all this. I wonder if there¡¯s a place I can borrow?¡± ¡°Oh boy, Yuuri¡¯s got her magic tool nerd face on.¡± ¡°It¡¯s one of the gifts of our master¡¯s education!¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t a compliment, you know?!¡± In any case, finding a place to process the materials can wait until we return. At this point we¡¯ll head back to the city for a bit. With that in mind, we started piling up the meat and scales we managed to cut away, but that¡¯s when I noticed something odd. It felt like the amount that Alec, of course, mister Jack and even mister Kale can carry is increasing. ¡°Hmm? Mister Kale, you can still hold more?¡± ¡°Yeah, keep piling it on!¡± ¡°But you¡¯ve already got about 100 kilograms on your back¡­?¡± Is his¡­ strength or endurance rising by a huge amount? It couldn¡¯t be because of the wyvern blood he¡¯s drenched in? ¡°How strange, a simple wyvern isn¡¯t supposed to have this effect, but¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it just some temporary effect?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ put a momentary hold on bringing this back. We might be carrying hazardous goods.¡± I intended on bringing it back, selling the meat to a butcher and having a barbecue party in the middle of the town or something, but¡­ if it turns everyone into superhumans, then it will spell big trouble. Rather than me, we need someone with more book smarts like mister Oreas¡ªno, maybe we should wait until my master recovers and have him look at it? Oh, come to think of it, I have ¡°Appraisal¡±. Let¡¯s try taking a look with that. Anyway, until we discover what¡¯s really going on, I¡¯ll seal away the corpse. But before that¡ª ¡°Before I seal the corpse up, I¡¯m gonna get a quick bath in that blood!¡± ¡°Yuuri, calm down! Aren¡¯t you the one who just said it could be dangerous?!¡± ¡°This is my chance to escape from being a total weakling though!¡± ¡°Well, if we leave it alone at this rate, then the blood will all be sucked into the ground. It would certainly be best to take care of it now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, well said mister Kale!¡± I dashed to the back of the cave¡­ Oh, I pushed the wyvern(?)¡¯s child onto Alec, of course? I packed together the ground beneath the partially butchered corpse with [Clay Wall], and reinforced it with [Toughness]. Now the blood won¡¯t be sucked into the ground anymore. Then I raised its surroundings, and once it had pooled there, I cast [Freeze] on it. ¡°Now, what will ¡°Appraisal¡± tell us¡­¡± ¡ªDemon Dragon Fafnir. The successor to a legendary fire dragon species¡¯ bloodline. It is said that the fire it breathes can kill gods and scorch the earth. ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Thaaaat¡¯s not a wyvern.¡± Chapter 35: Getting Involved Chapter 35: Getting Involved Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations I exited the cave with a pale face. My gait was also faltering. Yeah, when I met it, it was practically a surprise attack, so I didn¡¯t have a chance to use ¡°Appraisal¡±, but¡­ And then after I defeated it, I got caught up collecting the medicine and forgot to ¡°Appraise¡± it, but even so¡­ ¡°Why the hell is a monster like that over here?!¡± ¡°Whoa, what¡¯s wrong Yuuri? Did you figure something out?¡± When Alec came over with an innocent expression to ask about the results, I clasped my hand to his shoulder. ¡°Congratulations. You¡¯ve graduated from humanity.¡± ¡°Uh, wait a- what do you mean?!¡± If I remember right, back on earth, Fafnir was the name of the dragon whose blood a hero bathed in, which granted him invulnerability, wasn¡¯t it? For now let¡¯s ¡°Appraise¡± just the blood and see what it says. ¡°Mister Jack, you did gather the blood in a water bag, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Uh? Yeah.¡± ¡°Let me have a look please.¡± ¡°Sure thing, here.¡± ¡ªDemon Dragon¡¯s Blood. Grants a powerful increase in physical abilities if consumed or bathed in. ¡°Yeeaaah, it¡¯s definitely this stuff¡¯s fault¡­¡± ¡°Uhhh, Yuuri? If you figured something out, then I¡¯d really like to hear it you know?¡± ¡°Wait just a minute. I need to ¡°Appraise¡± this little one too.¡± I try ¡°Appraising¡± the ¡®dragon hatchling¡¯ that Alec is holding. ¡ªFafnir¡¯s Young. Child of a legendary demon dragon. It is currently powerless and without even a name, but in due time it will display immense power like its parent¡¯s. ¡°No doubt about it then¡­ I wonder if this is something that¡¯s alright to announce¡­?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve discovered that this hatchling was never a wyvern.¡± ¡°Say what?¡± When I say it¡¯s not a wyvern, Alec and the others¡¯ eyes turn into small dots. Since it has wings, no forelegs, and looks like a lizard, of course we would mistake it for a wyvern. ¡°It said this hatchling¡¯s parent is the demon dragon Fafnir. A legendary dragon that has existed since the mythical era.¡± ¡°Hey now, you¡¯re joking, right?¡± ¡°Sadly, no. And it looks like anyone who bathed in that blood is granted immense power. I think it¡¯s the cause of everyone¡¯s strength increasing.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s neat.¡± Says Jack in a comfortable tone¡­ oh right, if I use ¡°Appraisal¡± on them to see what status they¡¯re in, I¡¯ll know exactly what happened to them! Let¡¯s see¡­ condition: 3x physical abilities increase? And the effect time is permanent? ¡°This is¡­ bad.¡± Briskly saying just that, Alec and the others¡¯ faces turn pale. They probably took the it the wrong way. ¡°Yuuri, are we in that dangerous of a condition?!¡± ¡°No, actually I guess you¡¯re one step beyond human beings? Your physical abilities are increased three times more than normal.¡± ¡°AWESOME!¡± Jack is absolutely joyous. I guess he doesn¡¯t understand the seriousness of the situation. ¡°Moreover, it looks like the effect is permanent.¡± ¡°That¡¯s also pretty unbelievable.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s unbelievable. If this gets out, it could cause a war you know? For real.¡± ¡°¡­ Oh.¡± The reason being that there¡¯s a whole pile of this item, which can easily create superhumans, sitting right here. If other people find out about this, whole countries will move. And without a doubt, the first thing they would probably do is compete for it through war. ¡°There¡¯s no way we can let people know about this. Aside from the scales and bones we were going to process, the flesh and blood all need to be sealed away somewhere.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a real waste.¡± ¡°Mister Jack, this is way more serious than you suppose. To be honest, even bringing back the scales and bones could spell trouble.¡± ¡°Even those?!¡± ¡°But we were just lucky to get this power¡­ if we do this, then I¡¯ll feel bad for Bhav and Oreas.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s¡­ ugh, alright, fine. In that case, we can take back enough for a few people. However, it must be kept an absolute secret. If you can¡¯t guard that secret¡­ I will seal your mouths myself.¡± Saying that, I activated [Accel Boost], and launched a shot from Third Eye into a nearby tree. It¡¯s an ordinary iron arrow, but even then it had enough power to knock down 4, 5 large trees before stopping. I haven¡¯t shown my attack power to them before, so this way I think they got a real feeling for it. ¡°The only ones you can talk to about this are your current companions. Understood?¡± ¡°U-understood¡­¡± ¡°Alec, that goes for you too. In any case, we¡¯ll bring some back for Master and Marle, but you absolutely cannot talk to anyone besides them about it, got it?¡± ¡°I get it already.¡± ¡°For now we¡¯ll seal it back up here, and after heading back and getting a large carriage, when we leave the town we¡¯ll come back to collect it. Is everyone okay with me sealing away the corpse?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but¡­ are you sure?¡± ¡°No matter what, as long as this little one is here, I think I should handle the bulk of the management.¡± Fafnir lived here after all. And now I¡¯m the one who has to protect this hatchling. While making that resolution, I created a sarcophagus, and confined Fafnir¡¯s corpse inside it. ~*~ ¡°And that¡¯s what happened, Master. I¡¯m quite troubled.¡± ¡°If only my arms would move; I want to give you a hug¡­ my goodness.¡± After purchasing the large carriage, we gathered everyone except mister Elric and his wife in my master¡¯s room, and explained the situation. After looking over Jack and the others, he lets out a sigh and puts on a face of deep thought. ¡°It certainly seems that your physical abilities have increased dramatically. I suppose Yuuri¡¯s judgment was reasonable when she said it needs to be kept secret?¡± ¡°To be honest, I didn¡¯t want to take anything off of it, but then they might question whether the wyvern was really defeated or not, so we at least brought back the scales.¡± ¡°And miss Yuuri took down such an amazing dragon all by herself?¡± ¡°I only won by the skin of my teeth though¡ª¡° ¡°I keep telling you not to do such dangerous¡­ honestly, you¡¯re¡­¡± Marle¡¯s eyes are filled with a pleasant respect. My master¡¯s worries also sound kind of warm and soft. ¡°In any case, we brought back enough [Frozen] blood for everyone in this room. These are set up so a command word will dispel the freeze, so everyone is free to use it when they choose.¡± ¡°And the command word is?¡± I can¡¯t just answer this question immediately. First, I use ¡°Appraisal¡± on the ¡®space¡¯ to check if there are any other unwelcome listeners. Furthermore, just in case, I confirm it visually as well. ¡°The command word is ¡®Yuuri Albine¡¯.¡± ¡°¡­ Hey, why are you giving yourself my surname?¡± ¡°Miss Yuuri, that¡¯s so bold!¡± ¡°I would like to state my objection to this.¡± Marle is blushing for some reason, and miss Bella gives an objection. Is there some problem with me, as ¡°Master¡¯s apprentice,¡± using his Albine surname? ¡°The blood¡¯s effect is to multiply your ¡®current abilities¡¯ by 3, so I thought there might be some people who want to strengthen themselves a bit first, which is why I¡¯ll leave the timing up to you. Like Marle for example.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°What I mean is, it¡¯ll have a greater effect after you¡¯ve grown up. On the other hand, Master, you¡¯re wasting away, so you should probably take it as soon as your illness is gone.¡± ¡°Lay off, will you?!¡± If they take it while they¡¯re sick, then it¡¯s possible that the germs will become unstoppable, so I¡¯ll handle the portions for any ill people for now. ¡°But still, is it really okay¡­ for us to get something that amazing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s my fault that you got involved in this anyway. Besides, since we¡¯re gonna be in this together to the end anyway¡­ is also a bit of my expectations.¡± As would be expected, mister Oreas seems to understand the value of this. Of course, he also probably comprehends the risks. ¡°Anyway, after we grab the carriage, and we get close to the northern mountain, we¡¯ll recover the sarcophagus. That¡¯s okay, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°And also, as proof that they defeated the wyvern, I¡¯m thinking of making them armor from its scales. I made a request to the city¡¯s blacksmith, asking him to make 3 suits of scale mail and 1 shield.¡± ¡°3 suits of armor?¡± ¡°The armor is for Master, Alec, and mister Jack. Mister Kale can use the shield. But you and Alec probably shouldn¡¯t wear your armor until we leave the city, Master.¡± Because then everyone would figure out that we¡¯re involved with the subjugation. ¡°Come to think of it, didn¡¯t you take some of the blood, Yuuri?¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡®Adaptability¡¯¡­ nullifies its effects.¡± ¡°Ahh, right, poisons and illnesses don¡¯t effect you.¡± My escape from being a weakling was a failure. And on that note, the day¡¯s secret meeting was adjourned. ~*~ ¡°Was that really for the best?¡± ¡°Was what?¡± At night, while I was looking after my master, he sent that question my way. With him naked from the waist up, I continue wiping his back and question what he means. ¡°I¡¯m talking about them. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too trusting of passing traveling companions?¡± ¡°Well yeah, I probably am, but¡­ mister Jack and mister Kale were already effected anyway.¡± ¡°You could have made them keep their mouths shut.¡± ¡°Having their physical abilities tripled would definitely be noticed soon enough. I figured giving them a strict talking to, and dragging them all into it would give me more peace of mind, so¡­¡± ¡°By telling them they can have that effect, you pulled them to our side?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I wipe down his arms, sides, chest, and belly to get them all clean. While wiping his front, I¡¯m basically hugging him, so it¡¯s a little embarrassing. ¡°You need to get better soon too, Master. When you get that effect, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be amazing!¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯ll be nice.¡± With a slightly bitter smile, he replies lazily. ¡°Leaving that aside, ei!¡± ¡°Wait, why are you taking off my pants?!¡± ¡°What? To bathe you of course. I¡¯ve gotta clean your lower half too.¡± ¡°I-I can do that¡­¡± ¡°By youself? You know you can¡¯t. Time to give up.¡± ¡°Alec! ALEEEC! HELP YOUR MASTEEER!¡± ¡°Fufufu, Alec should be getting very intimate with Marle around now I think¡­?¡± A wicked and mischievous smile rises on my face. Miss Bella always takes care of Marle¡¯s body, but today I asked her to get food for my young dragon, so she¡¯s not here at the inn. She probably won¡¯t be back for a while. She also needs to lower her sense of resistance by the time we reach the hot springs after all! ¡°You know, I do have some responsibilities here as a guardian.¡± ¡°This is for my little brother¡¯s happiness. Please look the other way on this one.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re putting your effort in the wrong direction.¡± While he was busy thinking about that, I stripped off his pants and underwear! ¡­ gulp, I unconsciously swallowed down my saliva. I think I now understand the feelings of men who assail women. Wait, I already understood that before I reincarnated though! ¡°He-, waitwaitwait! You¡¯ve got a weird look in your eyes, Yuuri! Your eyes are getting really wild!¡± ¡°Oh? We can get wild. I don¡¯t mind. In fact, bring it on!¡± ¡°STOOOP IIIIIT?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not being as wordy any more, are you? Now, show me how you look au naturel!¡± ~*~ ¡°Hmm, don¡¯t you think Master looks kinda worn out this morning?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ well.. maybe it¡¯s because, he¡¯s feeling¡­ really uhh, refreshed?¡± ¡°Yuuri, that doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± ¡°Sir Alec, I think I know why¡­¡± It seems only the red faced Marle understood my master¡¯s feelings. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Comments: I think it¡¯s about time for this situation to move forward. Maybe I should have put in a BL tag? Translator¡¯s Snark: And thus man-eater Yuuri was born. Reborn? Yuuri¡¯s command word makes me imagine her as a schoolgirl writing out her desired married name. Chapter 36: Becoming Self-Conscious Chapter 36: Becoming Self-Conscious Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Comments: This chapter contains sexual content. Viewer discretion is advised. Winding back time a bit, we start this chapter the night before the ending lines of chapter 35. Translator¡¯s Notes: And by sexual content, the author means a brief bit of it at the start. Skip to the first break if you want to go past it (just hit ctrl+f and search ¡°~*~¡±). Anything after that is simply reference to something having happened. Once again, as the author mentioned, this chapter starts out by fleshing out the rest of the night when Yuuri goes a bit uhh¡­ wild¡­ in the previous chapter. Enjoy. --------------------------------------------------------------- My master¡¯s body twitches and jumps. It splashes out up to my elbows and dirties my hands. Once that happened, the emotional high finally came down. Yes, I do realize what I just did. ¡°U-ummm¡­¡± Dammit, I only meant to harass him a bit¡­ I really overdid it though. This is far beyond a simple prank. ¡ªHe¡¯s probably furious with me¡­ actually, that¡¯s not the problem, is it?! Thinking that, I timidly raise my eyes to my master¡¯s face. His body was completely exhausted, and his face was flushed. Fortunately, I couldn¡¯t see any anger in his expression. However, he has an expression that seems to desire something more. I wonder if the rest of him feels that way? And my body also¡­ answers to that desire¡­ my hand goes to his chest, and I bring my face close to his¡ª ¡°Ma¡­ ster¡­ ¡­Haster¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± My body covers that of my stirring master. I get closer, to the point where I can even feel his breath¡ª ¡°Ah¡­ I-I¡¯m sorry!¡± At the very last moment, I pushed my master¡¯s body away. ¡°I-I can¡¯t. If we keep going, then I can¡¯t go back anymore! That¡¯s why¡­¡± ¡°Yuuri¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± While saying that, I ran away from my master. ~*~ The fountain at the city square. I ran all the way there, and was catching my breath. My master¡¯s stuff is still on my hands. With the horrible incident from 5 years ago, any aversion I had to it was already broken. After all, it¡¯s been shot into my mouth, and I¡¯ve even experienced choking to death on it. It¡¯s just, there¡¯s only a feeling of discomfort¡ªbut when I thought about it being my master¡¯s, that discomfort wasn¡¯t there. ¡°¡­ Aum.¡± I suddenly decide to try licking off the stuff on my fingers. Just like five years ago, it¡¯s fishy, bitter, and¡­ disgusting enough to feel like vomiting. But, I really don¡¯t feel any aversion to it bubbling up. How strange. ¡°Can¡¯t go back¡­ huh¡­¡± While licking it all off, I reflectively spoke my own words again in contemplation. My previous world¡¯s body is currently a mass of minced meat. Of course I can¡¯t go back. ¡°Even so¡­ I had that body for twenty-two years.¡± It has already been five years. I lived my previous life in that body, and had a family. I even had a few friends. With the sudden accident, and this irrational reincarnation, I personally think I¡¯ve gotten by without any further problems. But, to do that, the only thing I avoided was ¡®my death¡¯. Because to the people around me, I unquestionably ¡®died¡¯ already. ¡°The police probably had a terrible time identifying me. The funeral preparations must have been a mess too.¡± The scene from my final moments is still burned into my retina. It¡¯s quite possible that it was a body-less funeral. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dad¡­ Mom¡­¡± I started thinking about my family, even though I¡¯ve been trying not to until now, and tears started overflowing, running down my cheeks. I didn¡¯t think I would die before them. I definitely didn¡¯t think I would become a girl. I felt like I had betrayed my parents, who raised me, in so many ways¡­ so I continued crying for a while. ~*~ After crying my eyes out for a bit, I suddenly started thinking about ¡®myself from now on.¡¯ ¡°Myself from when I was man¡­ my current self as a woman¡­¡± I can¡¯t go back anymore. So from now on, I must continue living as a woman. I don¡¯t grow at all, so I probably can¡¯t even consider marriage and children¡­ But since I can¡¯t die either, I¡¯ll have to live eternally as a woman. I wonder when it was that my male thoughts faded, and their discord with my female thoughts disappeared? ¡°Well, whether it be my enthusiasm as a man or my chastity as a woman, it was completely destroyed on the first day I reincarnated, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Anyway, with these gifts it¡¯s probably difficult to live as a woman. If I go out with a a man, then ¡°Sacred Treasure¡± will end up killing my partner. Can I even get pregnant in the first place? Of course I¡¯ve never menstruated anyway, and I feel like the effects of ¡°Golden Ratio¡± or ¡°Adaptability¡± would keep me from being able to. This is the one thing that I can¡¯t just ¡®try out¡¯. Speaking of which, in the Trade City Lilith incident, after five days of action it still didn¡¯t happen, so I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s impossible. ¡°I know that having children isn¡¯t a woman¡¯s only source of happiness, but even with that in mind¡­ aren¡¯t I a total failure as a woman?¡± If I get together with someone, that person will die, I can¡¯t have children, and I can¡¯t grow older. Married life would probably be hopeless. ¡°I won¡¯t be a good match for my master like this¡­ wait, what does this have to do with my master?!¡± Except I can¡¯t imagine any man other than my master. Someone like Alec doesn¡¯t count as a man. There are hardly any other potential relationships of that sort around me. ¡°In any case, I¡¯ve only ever thought of my relationship with my master as ¡®a very friendly grandpa and grandkid,¡¯ or ¡®an indulgent father and child,¡¯¡­¡± I want to think that I just went a little too far this time. But¡­ ¡°In the first place, I wouldn¡¯t play a prank like that on someone that I don¡¯t like, would I? Or do what happened afterward, either. If this was my previous life, then I probably would have exclaimed ¡®are you gay?!¡¯ and flailed around. But fortunately I¡¯m in a woman¡¯s body now¡­ even though I¡¯m a child. And if my master was a man who swung that way, then I can¡¯t deny that he¡¯s a real catch of a man¡ªand actually, looking at this from a woman¡¯s perspective, that would make him even cooler. ¡°Huh, so in other words, I¡­¡± I wonder when it happened? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s been this way for a long time¡ª ¡°I like my master¡­ probably?¡± The moment that escaped from my mouth, I found my face immediately flushed. I shake my head left and right vigorously, and with a gasp I noticed my surroundings¡­ a bunch of people were looking my way, making faces that look like they were being healed. Let¡¯s imagine this. It¡¯s a street corner at sunset, and there¡¯s a young girl who¡¯s licking her fingers while turning red, going pale, crying, and shaking her head, so¡­ ¡ªIf you were there, then what would you do? 1. Get excited 2. Be calmed 3. Take her home ¡°What are you all looking at me calmly for¡ª, YOU JEEEERKS!¡± For now I chose the option to ¡®leave them with an insult, and escape from there¡¯. By the time I realized, my dirtied hands had been completely licked clean. ~*~ (Alec¡¯s Perspective) It¡¯s three days after the dragon was defeated, and Master seems kinda worn out. Is it because of the illness I wonder? Yuuri said, ¡®maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s feeling refreshed?,¡¯ in response, but¡­ she seems to be having trouble looking me in the eye? And while that was happening, Master comes this way¡­ ¡°Uh¡ª, Yuuri. Umm, I¡¯d like to talk¡ª¡° ¡°Ah, Alec! I¡¯m going to go check on how things are going at the weapon shop, see ya!¡± Well, rather than not listening, she was definitely running away. It¡¯s felt this way the whole time recently. ¡°What did you do, Master?¡± ¡°Uh, nothi¡­ aah, yeah. Nothing at all?¡± ¡°Frankly, when you¡¯re talking like that, it¡¯s hard to believe that it¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°¡­ Well, I was just a little too forward.¡± Master made the unusual move of falling prostrate. Is he seriously depressed right now? ¡°It¡¯s pretty unusual for you to fail at something, Master. It would be normal for Yuuri though.¡± ¡°That was an error. She probably hates me. No, there¡¯s no way she¡­ wouldn¡¯t hate me after that, is there!?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s definitely not it.¡± I think this teacher and student pair each evaluate themselves far too low. I would expect the world to be destroyed before Yuuri hates Master, you know? And I guess Master has held distrust for other people for a long time, so maybe there¡¯s no helping that. ¡°But that was wrong¡­ That was definitely wrong. Though some of it was out of my control.¡± ¡°Seriously, what did you do?¡± ¡°You think I can say it out loud?!¡± Looks like Master¡¯s going off the deep end. This is the only time I¡¯ve ever seen him this shaken up. Well, as his apprentice, this is when I should mediate in their relationship I suppose. I¡¯ve gotta thank her for the other day anyway¡­ ¡°Ah, good morning! Sir Alec, mister Haster!¡± ¡°Good morning Marle. And remember, I¡¯m Albine right now.¡± ¡°Oops, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Morning, are you feeling better now?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I¡¯m glad she¡¯s okay now. I give Marle a light kiss on the cheek, and then plan to chase after Yuuri. She¡¯s so cute when she¡¯s embarrassed. Yep. ¡°Dammit, go explode!¡± Master seems like he¡¯s really stressed out right now. He¡¯s almost like a guy who just got dumped. ~*~ (Yuuri¡¯s perspective) I said I was going to the weapon shop, but I know that the order isn¡¯t complete yet, so I ended up with nothing to do. Well I decided to make the most of it, so while I was enjoying my morning walk, Alec caught up with me. ¡°¡­ and that¡¯s the why I¡¯m here. Master is seeming really stressed, so could you at least hear him out?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just shy about it is all. My prank went a little¡­ actually, doesn¡¯t he hate me?¡± ¡°Of course he doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°In the first place, just thinking about talking with Master alone is frying my head!¡± Leaving that prank set-up aside, I really think I¡¯m late in realizing this though! Whether I¡¯m conscious of it or not conscious of it changes the significance of it in all sorts of ways. ¡°Yuuri, you¡¯re living with Master, just the two of you. What are you saying all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t remind me. I¡¯m trying not to think about it.¡± If I become conscious of that right now I won¡¯t be able to stop it anymore. I never had a girlfriend in the past, so I didn¡¯t think about it. Certainly, the way things are right now isn¡¯t good. Master is a popular, so if I take my eyes off of him, then all sorts of people will get close to him. Like miss Bella, or miss Bella, and also miss Bella¡­ just imagining it makes me really irritated! ¡°Urgh, I get it. When we get back I¡¯ll try talking with Master.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you understand.¡± ¡°By the way, Alec. How¡¯s your body feeling? You haven¡¯t felt bad since then?¡± ¡°Mm, right. Been in great shape. I¡¯ve even got enough strength to swing a regular great sword one-handed now.¡± ¡°Then I guess it should be fine to let Master use the ¡®blood¡¯ about now.¡± ¡°I was the guinea pig?!¡± ¡°For Marle¡¯s, take good care of it until she grows up, got it? Don¡¯t use it unless it¡¯s an emergency.¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡± For now, let¡¯s confirm how things stand. The members of Forest Bear used the ¡®blood¡¯ as soon as they were cured of the illness. They¡¯ve been sulky because they want to test out their new strength. They want to head out of here quickly, but we can¡¯t depart until the scale equipment is ready after all. For that job, I handed over a hammer with [Toughness] on it, and a knife with [Sharpness] on it, so the manufacturing is proceeding at quite the pace. Also, those tools are not the types that can have their magic refilled, so they¡¯ll naturally break after a while. I¡¯m not going to let replenish-able enchanted goods out into the world. After checking on the progress of things, I¡¯ll have my showdown with my master. ~*~ Later on¡­ ¡°Master, I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡°Ah, no, I was in the wrong.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t¡­ hate me?¡± ¡°Of course not. When you were avoiding me, I thought you hated me, and I was really anxious.¡± ¡°I could never hate you, Master, not even if heaven and earth went backwards!¡± ¡°¡­ tch.¡± I could hear mister Bhav clicking his tongue, but I¡¯ll ignore it. Actually, you had miss Bella taking care of you that much, and you didn¡¯t tell her how you feel? What a loser¡­ --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Comments: Miss Yuuri, finally self-conscious. Translator¡¯s Snark: Riajuu bakuhatsushiro! Chapter 37: A Fresh Start Chapter 37: A Fresh Start Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Translator¡¯s Note: I feel the need to inform readers that there was an important mis-translation in chapter 2. Full notes on it can be found If you don¡¯t want to read through that, then tl;dr: Yuuri did not disable her agelessness, and cannot disable her agelessness, nor her immortality, or charming gifts. I posted those notes just the other day (I know most readers come from Novelupdates and probably didn¡¯t see it), and made this same note at the start of chapter 9 so new readers would be aware as well. And now the chapter: ¡°I will now announce this kid¡¯s name!¡± ¡°What¡¯s this all of a sudden¡­?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t leave the poor thing with no name, can we?¡± ¡°Well sure, I guess not.¡± ¡°I gave it the name ¡°Yig.¡± Please continue taking care of me.¡± ¡°Wow, not bad. What¡¯s it mean?¡± ¡°¡­ It¡¯s the name of an evil being who¡¯s called The Father of Serpents and a bringer of madness?¡± ¡°Wha!?¡± What are you getting so surprised about, this little one is a myth-rank dragon to begin with. It¡¯s gonna grow 10 meters or more, like its parent, you know? Which means it should be perfectly fine to give it an exaggerated name! ~*~ My master and I made up more quickly than I expected, but it¡¯s not like we could suddenly get all flirty with each other. First off, we purchased a large carriage, normally used for transporting lumber, to carry the sarcophagus on. It was an amazing 300 gold coins. I had Alec and my master chip in, and we managed to pull together enough to purchase it. We have about 135 gold coins remaining. 100 of those coins are being handled by my master as traveling expenses, and we¡¯ve each got 10 coins of spending money left. Marle was given the remaining 5 coins. After removing the immediate crafting materials, I had cast [Freeze] on the corpse. I made the sarcophagus using [Clay Walls] and gave it a strong seal with [Toughness]. I cast [Weight Reduction] on it, and placed it on the carriage. I made up a story to pass this by mister Elric. I told him that I found a particularly hard stone here, so I¡¯m going to bring it along so I can make a new product with it. And in truth, it is much harder than iron. Additionally, we had to fabricate some heroes for the dragon extermination. Fortunately, Forest Bear¡¯s physical abilities are exceptionally strengthened, thanks to the ¡®Dragon¡¯s Blood¡¯ Their current strength is about the same as my master¡¯s without any strengthening. It¡¯s just, without any items to serve as proof that they killed it, I guess you could say they would put on a bad show, or their appearance would seem kinda weak¡­ That¡¯s why, aside from the scale mail for mister Jack, and the scale tower shield for mister Kale, I think it would be best for the others to have something too, and I¡¯m working on that. First I went with my master to cut some more materials away. We took one rib, some of its hide, claws, and tendons. For mister Bhav, the rib was carved into a short sword. The base was left thick, the blade made thin, and even the handle was made out of it, so it was all made as a single piece. The bone is way too hard, so to sharpen and process it, I cast [Toughness] on its vertebrae, and used those bones to process it. The blade was much sharper than I expected, and to demonstrate that, I ended up cutting mister Kale¡¯s old tower shield like it was paper. Is that okay? ¡­ It should be fine, right? It ended up surpassing mister Jack¡¯s great sword in killing power. Next is miss Bella. The girl who administers healing for the party is someone who absolutely must not fall. However, she¡¯s weak, so she can¡¯t wear heavy armor. So that¡¯s why I tanned the hide, and made a mantle out of it. This applies to mister Jack and mister Kale¡¯s equipment too, but Fafnir¡¯s hide is strong against fire, light, and extraordinarily tough. Typical swords and arrows probably won¡¯t leave a scratch on it. Yet something terrible might happen if I handle its creation, so my master did it for me. Lastly, something for mister Oreas. As a magician, he relies on the power of his fire. A legendary dragon¡¯s body serves as an excellent catalyst, so I used its claws for this. Using Fafnir¡¯s claws as a catalyst, I made a staff, which will amplify his magic power. It seems it¡¯s particularly compatible with fire-type magic. When I checked it with ¡°Appraisal,¡± it looked like it would amplify the power of fire by several times more than normal. And additionally, something for me. With the goal of using the remainder of the rib, I¡¯ll reinforce Third Eye, and then use the tendon to remake the bowstring. I guess it¡¯ll be what you might call a composite bow. Unfortunately, the processing takes time and effort, so it¡¯s not done yet. Also, I saved the scrap bone and scales from all that work. I¡¯m sure there will be some way to use it. That was a heaping pile of work, so for the whole week that it took to finish the armor, I barely had any time to meet with my master. ~*~ ¡°WOOHOO! Look at this! Look, do you see how ridiculously light it is?!¡± ¡°Yeah I know, now please, tell me if it¡¯s the right size, and if you¡¯re having any trouble moving around in it.¡± While mister jack is hopping around like an idiot, the weapon shop owner looks at it from outside and checks to make sure it¡¯s made right. ¡°No problems. This shield is light too, and it¡¯s easy to handle. In fact, it¡¯s a little too light, to the point where it¡¯s making me uneasy¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s because this is the first time I¡¯ve used materials like this. It ended up pretty light, but its defensive power should far surpass your previous great shield.¡± ¡°In that case, shall we test it out?¡± Alec takes mister Bhav¡¯s short sword, and tries hitting mister Kale¡¯s shield with it. Ping, the short sword makes a light sound, and immediately bends out of shape. ¡°Uwa! Please stop doing these things all of a sudden!¡± ¡°Not a scratch, huh? So was mister Bhav¡¯s sword just inferior, or was the shield above expectations¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the latter, obviously! I do know how to at least choose quality weapons!¡± ¡°Do you think this mantle¡¯s color is a bit plain?¡± It looks like miss Bella is dissatisfied with the color of her mantle. It¡¯s because we didn¡¯t dye it. It¡¯s a mixture of brown and green; kind of an olive color. ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s tanned dragon hide. We didn¡¯t have time to dye it¡­ by the way Yuuri, could you stop clinging to my back?¡± ¡°No way. I¡¯m in the middle of replenishing my ¡®Essence of Master¡¯ supply right now.¡± ¡°The heck is that¡­ in that case, couldn¡¯t you hug me from the front?¡± ¡°Th-that would be¡ª! No, bad idea, with my height, certain spots would feel particularly good and hit me, wouldn¡¯t they?!¡± ¡°What would?!¡± ¡°If you take me back to your room right now, then I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to refuse you, so I reject that suggestion.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to!¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­ keh!¡± Mister Bhav, I hope you make some progress on your end too¡­ Feeling sentimental, I send a look of pity in his direction. I may have become more self-conscious, but it¡¯s not like I can have a man and woman relationship, so I feel a strange sense of camaraderie with him. I mean come on, I¡¯m lethal in a number of ways as a woman. ¡°By the way Yuuri, you didn¡¯t [Enchant] that equipment, did you?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t?¡± ¡°And it still performs that well¡­¡± ¡°Maybe it really was a bad idea to give it to other people?¡± It all performs way too well. Mister Bhav¡¯s short sword could even cut through plate mail like it¡¯s paper, and mister Jack¡¯s scale mail could probably take a hit from Ivan¡¯s war hammer without a dent. Miss Bella¡¯s mantle wouldn¡¯t even have char marks after one of Baram¡¯s [Light Arrows]. By the way, when I reinforced the spine with [Toughness], I noticed that I can put seven enchantments on this stuff. That¡¯s a legendary dragon for you. ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine. You didn¡¯t think it would be that powerful, so there¡¯s no use worrying about it now. But we¡¯ll have to be careful from now on.¡± ¡°Yeah, I suppose so. I still have the powder from when I was shaving away at the bone, so let¡¯s be cautious with it.¡± My master and I had a secret conversation, reflecting on our actions. With our faces so close together, I¡¯m a bit ¡®happy¡¯. My cheeks end up breaking into a smile. ¡°Hey, everyone. It looks like the equipment is all in order then.¡± I guess with all the raucous noise we were making, maybe he could hear us all the way in the middle of the inn? Mister Elric popped his head out to see us. I see a few armed people behind him though¡­? ¡°Yeah, sorry for delaying our departure, mister Elric.¡± ¡°Naw, think nothing of it. We would have originally been stuck here for a full month anyway. To have it done with in a week is most satisfactory.¡± ¡°If you say so¡­¡± ¡°And besides, I had to acquire more escorts anyway.¡± ¡°Which means these individuals are?¡± My master tactfully extends a greeting while asking about their purpose. Behind him were four adventuresome youths. Their equipment is sparkling new, and their atmosphere screams ¡®novices¡¯. ¡°A pleasure to meet you! We call ourselves ¡°Wild Horse (temporary)¡±. We¡¯re most honored to be able to come along with the dragon slaying heroes!¡± The rookie(?) gives an extremely nervous self introduction. Their names are, Ayle; the warrior, Beat; the scout, Cedar; the archer, and Didrich; the magician. That¡¯s easy to remember: they¡¯re A, B, C, and D. But the first thing to comment on is¡­ ¡°What¡¯s with the (temporary)?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve only registered with the guild a sec ago, so eh, we haven¡¯t officially chosen our party name yet.¡± There are many adventurers who are managed by the guild as a party unit. Of course, there are also those who go solo. When the party is put together and takes a job, they give themselves a unique party name. Naturally, if their name is passed around, they¡¯ll get more job requests specifically for them, so typically the members and party name stay fixed. So I guess they¡¯re saying that since they only just recently put together their party, they haven¡¯t made a final decision on a fixed party name. ¡°I see, so I get that, but¡­ why are you so stiff and formal with them, and not with me?¡± ¡°Why the heck would we be formal with some subordinate?¡± Oh, so that¡¯s what it looks like, huh? Indeed, we¡¯re a one-armed guy, a man in his prime, and a child. Maybe that¡¯s what I should have expected? ¡°Might that be armor made with the dragon¡¯s scales?! That is so cool!¡± ¡°It is, ain¡¯t it!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t do a damn thing!¡± Forest Bear seems uncomfortable with the excessive compliments brought on by Wild Horse (except Jack). Miss Bella seems particularly embarrassed by it. But I¡¯m not okay with you stealing glances at my master like that, alright? ¡°This¡± is mine. ¡°Well then, if we¡¯ve got everything ready, then I¡¯d like to depart from here tomorrow¡­¡± Mister Elric breaks the ice in a slightly apologetic manner. As a merchant, I¡¯m sure he wants to make up for lost time after being stuck here for ten days. I understand his desire to hurry. ¡°Indeed, we¡¯ve finished resupplying our foodstuffs and the like, so I think that should be fine.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s the old guy answering him?¡± ¡°HAH? Who the hell are you calling an old guy? I will END you, boy!¡± ¡°Calm down, Yuuri.¡± ¡°What the heck, this kid is scary!¡± I threaten Ayl, who called my master an old man. Though since I¡¯m sticking to my master¡¯s back like a koala, there¡¯s not much force behind it. But what a child, to not be able to appreciate his elegance and refinement! And so, we gained new traveling companions, and we finally departed for the city of Rahon. Chapter 38: Feeling Alienated Chapter 38: Feeling Alienated Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations When we left town, we renewed our equipment. First, scale mail, just like mister Jack¡¯s, for my master. And the same armor for Alec. Also we purchased a great sword for him. It doesn¡¯t have [Weight Reduction], but with Alec strengthened by the ¡®Blood¡¯, he easily handles it with one hand. And last, I bought a dummy short bow. It can also be thought of as a child¡¯s practice bow, but it at least has some killing power. If used along with [Far Sight], it¡¯ll have a fair bit of accuracy, so I should be able to use it in battle. Since we¡¯re so heavily equipped despite being luggage carriers, the members of Wild Horse were looking at us with curious expressions. ~*~ ¡°Haaa¡­.¡± ¡°Miss Yuuri, you¡¯re sighing again.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just a¡ªit feels like everything¡¯s been solved but it hasn¡¯t really¡ªkinda thing.¡± ¡°You and mister Haster made up, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°We did, but¡ª¡° Yeah, when you think about it, things just went back to the way they were. I¡¯ve become aware of my own feelings, but is it really a good idea to try making those feelings bear fruit¡­? By the way, we¡¯re on the the third carriage, the large one carrying the sarcophagus, and it¡¯s just Marle and I here. Mister Elric is driving the first carriage, Forest Bear is acting as their escort, and my master is with them. The second carriage is miss Leche and mister Pele¡¯s. Their escorts are Wild Horse and Alec. This third carriage is my personal responsibility, so there¡¯s no escort with it. As such, it¡¯s carrying Marle and I, who were originally extra baggage. And, as naturally happens in any world when two girls get together, we¡¯re having some girl talk¡ªwell, even though I used to be a man. ¡°So? And? Did you have a make-up kiss or something like that?¡± ¡°That kind of thing is unnecessary between my master and I.¡± ¡°Then I guess I¡¯m a step ahead of you!¡± ¡°Wha?! I never thought Alec would go that far!¡± ¡°I was a sickly girl with an ephemeral ambiance¡ªwhich worked really well!¡± ¡°Marle¡­ you are frighteningly good at this!¡± This girl is just getting worse these days. Although, what I did is something that could only be called a hand job, so¡­ I guess I ended up jumping past her in certain ways. ¡°But I¡¯m sure mister Haster likes you, Yuuri. Though there¡¯s a big gap in your age.¡± ¡°The problem is on my end.¡± ¡°Miss Yuuri, do you dislike mister Haster?¡± ¡°Not at all! I love him to the point where I could request a second helping!¡± If there were two of my master¡­ uhehehe¡­ I¡¯m starting to understand how the heroines in harem games aimed at women feel. ¡°Miss Yuuri, your face is rotting.¡± ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s rotting?!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s put that aside¡­ In that case, what¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t put that aside. The problem has to do with how my body works.¡± ¡°How your body works¡­ is this about gifts?¡± ¡°Marle, what are your dreams for the future?¡± I also have dreams, but I really think I should ask a ¡°real¡± girl about her dreams for reference. ¡°Let¡¯s see. Get married (to Alec)~, have (Alec¡¯s) children~, live in a small house (with Alec)~¡± ¡°I can hear what you¡¯re really thinking between what you¡¯re saying, Marle.¡± What a sappy, lovey dovey couple! You were such a pure girl when I first met you. Where did that girl go?! ¡°In my case, I can¡¯t even give someone a family.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± ¡°My body is stuck in ¡®this shape¡¯. Basically, I can¡¯t get older. So I¡¯ll never have an ¡®adult¡¯s charm¡¯, ever.¡± ¡°Is staying young a bad thing?¡± ¡°It means I¡¯ll always be a child. And if my body is that of a child¡¯s, then I can¡¯t have children.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a problem.¡± Though I do recall hearing about someone giving birth at age 8 on the news in my past life once. ¡°And even if I get married, I can¡¯t be a nighttime partner. You probably can¡¯t do that either.¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s¡ª! I-I-I-I definitely can¡¯t do that yet!¡± I¡¯ve physically experienced it plenty of times, but with the effect of ¡°Sacred Treasure,¡± it¡¯s as I said before. It¡¯s only a question of whether I¡¯m the one who dies, or my partner does. ¡°I¡¯ll always be a child, and though I can love someone, I can¡¯t make love with them, and I can¡¯t have children. Do you think my master would take someone like me?¡± ¡°¡ªI¡¯m sure mister Haster would.¡± ¡°But, would he be happy that way?¡± ¡°¡­ uu.¡± My master is going on 60. He probably wants children and grandchildren. Of course there are homes without children, and people who can¡¯t have children, and I¡¯m sure they can be happy that way. But to prepare myself to approach and push that on someone who I¡¯m not even going out with¡­ he¡¯ll totally end up thinking that I¡¯m being way too selfish. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m so dang worried right now¡ª!¡± Wishing only for my own happiness, is it really a good idea for me to confess my feelings to my master? Is there any way through this at all¡­ hm? ¡°¡­ Come to think of it.¡± ¡°What? Did you get a good idea?¡± I may not have an ¡®adult¡¯s charm,¡¯ but could the charm from ¡°Golden Ratio¡± serve as a substitute? In which case, the problem becomes the danger of sexual activity, and whether I can get pregnant or not¡­ As far as gifts that would inhibit pregnancy¡­ ¡°Appraisal,¡± ¡°Ageless body,¡± ¡°Immortality,¡± ¡°Peerless Magic,¡± and ¡°Revival Growth¡± are definitely unrelated. I stick my index finger out and wave it around to guide my thoughts. ¡°Which leaves ¡°Golden Ratio,¡± ¡°Adaptability,¡± and ¡°Sacred Treasure¡±.¡± ¡°Wh-what?¡± ¡°And ¡°Sacred Treasure¡± only gives pleasure, so that¡¯s out too. Which means the problem must be either ¡°Adaptability,¡± which prevents abnormal status effects and allows me to endure pain, or ¡°Golden Ratio,¡± which maintains my figure.¡± At Lilith I kept ¡°Adaptability¡± on, so did that prevent the ¡®status effect¡¯ known as ¡®pregnancy¡¯? Wait, I disabled it once didn¡¯t I? Then did ¡°Golden Ratio¡± prevent my body type from changing to that of a pregnant woman? ¡°I can disable ¡°Adaptability,¡± so maybe I really can get pregnant?¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s great!¡± ¡°Nah, as long as I have ¡°Sacred Treasure¡± I can¡¯t do the deed, so in the end it doesn¡¯t help.¡± ¡°Awww~¡± In my past life, there was a method for getting pregnant without any such activity. Something like in vitro fertilization? Anyway, my ¡®blood¡¯ strengthened master could manage to resist my gift if it¡¯s only 30 minutes. It¡¯s a little fast, but it should be¡­ possible, at least. Right? Be that as it may¡­ ¡°In the end, if I don¡¯t do something about ¡°Golden Ratio,¡± then nothing¡¯s going to happen.¡± The charm effect from ¡°Golden Ratio¡± can at least be sealed, so maybe the body maintaining effect can also be sealed. ¡°Next is the problem of ovulation¡­ wait, why the hell am I so carefully thinking about how to get myself pregnant?!¡± ¡°Kyaaa! That¡¯s dirty, miss Yuuri!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know if my master will take me yet¡­¡± ¡°But you can¡¯t confess until you know if you can have children, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s one of those chicken and egg problems.¡± ~*~ There are 5 days left until we reach Solkalis. Today is at its end, so actually 4 days. I tried making dinner tonight. While practicing my bow, I took down a bird partway through, dressed it, and simmered it with our dried vegetables and fruits to make a stew. Usually I would go to gather firewood, but when I¡¯m cooking there¡¯s no need for wood. We have the light stones to see with, so there¡¯s no problems there. First, I use a [Heat Ball] to warm the pot, and saute the bird meat in it. I toss some freshly picked herbs in to add flavor, and take away the meaty smell. Once all that is heated through, I add the water, and toss a [Heat Ball] in to bring it to a boil. Then I add the preserved vegetables, and let it simmer for¡­ hmm? Why is the meat disappearing? ¡°Agu, agu¡± ¡°Yig, no swiping food!¡± ¡°Agya!¡± I scold Yig, who was sneakily eating some of the meat. With that taken care of, the meal is complete. ¡°Wow, thanks for the food little miss. Did that winged lizard help too?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Yig. Please, call him by his name.¡± There are things called winged lizards in this world. At most they grow to about 1 meter, and they aren¡¯t particularly dangerous, so people don¡¯t usually mind them very much. Yig is being mistaken as one of those winged lizards. By the way, I don¡¯t deny that he is one, nor do I confirm that he is, so I¡¯m not lying about it, okay? ¡°There¡¯s not very much meat in it because Yig was sneaking bites. Be aware that it¡¯s not because I¡¯m being stingy or anything like that.¡± ¡°You could have just cut his tail off and added it to the stew!¡± ¡°If you cut off Yig¡¯s tail, then I¡¯ll stew your fingers, mister Ayl!¡± While threatening mister Ayl, who¡¯s saying disturbing things, I serve the meal. My master was having an aperitif and joking with miss Bella. ¡°¡­ Master, here¡¯s your dinner.¡± ¡°Ah, thanks Yuuri.¡± ¡°Today we¡¯re having Yuu¡­ miss Yuuri¡¯s cooking I see.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to call me ¡®miss¡¯ you know? Since I look like this.¡± This sight kind of makes my heart hurt. An adult appearance that I¡¯ll never obtain. A body that can drink alcohol alongside my master. The rest of the party members are relaxing wherever they please. ¡°It sort of¡­ feels like I shouldn¡¯t be here.¡± I quickly finished my meal with Yig, then headed to the woods near the road to be by myself for a bit. ~*~ Holding a light stone, I head a ways into the woods and, finding a small clearing, I crouch down and hug my knees. Yig alights from my head and sits at my side. Is that a worried look on his face? I lightly pet his head, let out a sigh, and lie down on my side. The cool dirt feels nice. ¡°It¡¯s not like anything even really happened¡­¡± ¡°Ukyu?¡± Yig bounded onto my chest. While there, he starts licking my cheek. He must be worried about me. ¡°I was thinking about all that stuff this afternoon, so I¡¯m just feeling a little down.¡± About normal people. About how abnormal I am. I felt a ¡°you¡¯re too different¡±¡­ sort of alienating feeling. ¡°Maybe¡­ I¡¯m being too fussy, minding something so simple. I never even cared a long time ago.¡± Both I and others acknowledged that I¡¯m a sketchy character, and I didn¡¯t mind the gazes of others in the least. So even when my employed friends ironically called me a NEET, I didn¡¯t mind it a bit. And yet now I¡¯m worrying back and forth about the actions of one person. ¡°The ground feels nice and cold, Yig.¡± Maybe I¡¯m tired from the long journey? I feel like I¡¯m gonna fall asleep like this. But that would make them to worry about me, so let¡¯s head back before that happens. I lied there for a bit, and when I got my feelings back in order, I returned to the merchant caravan. A late night walk became part of my daily routine after this day. --------------------------------------------------------------- Translator¡¯s Snark: You can cut off A-kun¡¯s fingers, Yuuri. We won¡¯t tell anyone. Protect your cute child/winged lizard! Chapter 39: A Weirdo Entered the Scene Chapter 39: A Weirdo Entered the Scene Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations 3 days after leaving Rahon. The journey is going exceedingly smoothly. With the to-do over the bandits, and the wyvern disturbance, we were being vigilant, thinking ¡°what else is going to happen?¡± but¡­ At this rate it looks like we¡¯ll arrive at Solkalis the day after tomorrow. It¡¯s the afternoon break, and I¡¯m sitting on my master¡¯s lap, working on unraveling Fafnir¡¯s tendon The current Third Eye uses a thick silver wire as its string, reinforced with [Strength] and [Toughness]. If I used typical things for the bow, like string or animal tendons, then it wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the force from it. Since it needed a magic circle carved in it, the bowstring ended up thick, and it doesn¡¯t feel very elastic, but that was the only problem. That¡¯s where Fafnir¡¯s tendon comes in. Rather than this half-baked metal string, the much tougher, supple, and highly elastic tendon is optimal as Third Eye¡®s bowstring. The problem is the work of taking apart this stupidly huge tendon. The work is very complex and requires a lot of patience¡­ ¡°Ugh, this is tougher than I thought it would be. And [Telekinesis] isn¡¯t suited to fine detail work like this.¡± ¡°I think the real question is this: why do you need to do that work on my lap?¡± ¡°Because if I take my eyes off you for a second then you¡¯ll start flirting with miss Bella, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I have no intention of getting in other peoples¡¯ hair!¡± ¡°I see your point, you¡¯re having your own hair trouble.¡± ¡°Stop talking about that!¡± My master holds down the hair on his head in worry. He has been worried about that lately. Also, please don¡¯t move around too much. Since that time I¡¯ve been pretty conscious of it, you know? That one place that¡¯s touching me¡­ ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re still quite fine mister Haster. You¡¯re still in top form.¡± ¡°Thank you for saying so. My apprentice is merciless.¡± I feel like miss Bella is being more extreme in her attacks with my master as part of the Forest Bear escort. I¡¯m enduring the embarrassment of sitting here while doing my work, because it¡¯s also supposed to be a restraint. Mister Bhav, please reign her in a bit more! ¡°Be careful Master, carnivorous girls are dangerous.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you mainly carnivorous yourself, Yuuri?¡± ¡°Well I do love meat¡ª¡° ¡°Then I¡¯ll add more ham to your sandwich, Yuuri.¡± ¡°Oh, me too! Add some to mine too please!¡± ¡°Ah, me too please!¡± ¡°Shagya!¡± Miss Leche was handling the meal for us, and she added ham on mine. Seeing that, Jack requested the same for his. Alec and Yig got on board with it too. ¡°Mister Jack, if you hold Alec dear as your ¡®big bro¡¯, then shouldn¡¯t you be giving him your ham sandwich?¡± ¡°Well, I uh?! But¡­ ugh!¡± Trapped between loyalty and his tastes, mister Jack struggles. Then for some reason, mister Bhav covers for him. ¡°In that case, shouldn¡¯t little miss Yuuri be giving her sandwich to mister Haster?¡± ¡°Huh?! Uh but, I¡¯m still a growing girl!¡± ¡°Even though you don¡¯t grow?¡± ¡°Master, that¡¯s confidential information.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ whoops.¡± My careless master easily leaked highly classified information. Gosh, there¡¯s meow helping this guy. ¡°Ah, sir Alec, here, have mine!¡± ¡°Really? Ah¡ª, but you need to eat properly, Marle, or you won¡¯t get any bigger, like Yuuri.¡± ¡°Eh? That would be troubling¡­ but your stomach is more important!¡± ¡°Hey! What part of me are you comparing when you say that?!¡± The winner in life, Marle, tries to cleverly earn some points. I guess you could call her a beast in life at this point. And what do you mean being like me would be troubling?! ¡­ Yeah, it really is. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being small? Children are the only ones who can sit on laps like this, you know?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t treat me like a child too, Masteeeeer!¡± While being bounced on his lap, I state my dissatisfaction. Master, if you keep treating me like a child, I¡¯ll pull on it again! ~*~ I somehow managed to resupply on my master¡¯s essence in the afternoon, so I went on my late night walk feeling satisfied. ¡°The wind feels really nice tonight, Yig.¡± ¡°Ugyu?¡± My master also seems to be aware of my night time strolls, but he¡¯s allowing it because I¡¯ve got Yig along with me. Despite being a child, he¡¯s the offspring of Fafnir. Yig is much stronger than the monsters around here. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you to guard me tonight, Yig.¡± ¡°Agya!¡± Without going too deep, I¡¯m taking a light stroll near the entrance to a grove a trees. The night time breeze is cool, and the surrounding vegetation releases just enough moisture to make the humidity feel nice on my skin. ¡°Don¡¯t they say this has to do with negative ions?¡± ¡°Ugyu~ Gyagyah¡± It looks like my good mood has infected Yig, too. He flies around me, almost like he¡¯s dancing. After walking around for about 10 minutes, we found a perfect stone to sit on, so we¡¯ll take a short break. Taking out Third Eye, with it¡¯s newly remade string, I try giving it a light tug. ¡°Next, if I use the bone as reinforcement for the bow, I suppose it will be complete?¡± Yig makes a strange face, brings his nose close to the bow and gives it a sniff. I wonder if some of his parent¡¯s scent remains on it? I feel like I¡¯m doing something cruel now. ¡°Part of this bow was made from your real mother after all, Yig. Though it was a matter of life and death¡­¡± Part of the reason being, Fafnir would need something to feed on, and with a new child, the amount of that feed would increase. We couldn¡¯t give it Rahon as a feeding ground, but if the people gathered a bunch of fish, then they could have thrown the whole net to it. Of course, even that way, they were at no obligation to feed it, so they would probably strike back against it. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to attack people. Because humans are actually the scary on¡ªwho¡¯s there?!¡± Suddenly, I felt something strong nearby¡­ yeah, I can only describe it as feeling something with a really strong presence. I pull an iron arrow from the quiver on my back, and point it in the direction of that feeling in threat. ¡°Wait. If I startled you, then I apologize.¡± Saying that, a boy of about 14 or 15 years old stepped out from behind the trees. Like me, he had silver hair and red eyes. His slender body was like that of an illusion¡­ and yet he gives off a very certain sense of reality. Seeing his figure, I knit my eyebrows together. Despite appearing young, he had the ability to come near me without making a sound on the piled up leaves in the area. ¡ªThis guy is strong¡­ no, he¡¯s unbelievably so. With my master¡¯s training, I¡¯m learning a technique to see through my opponent¡¯s abilities. But even with that, I couldn¡¯t grasp his abilities. ¡°Please don¡¯t come any closer. If you do, then I will shoot you without mercy, got it?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want that. That bow looks like it¡¯ll hurt.¡± As if he doesn¡¯t even feel slightly threatened, he says that in an aloof manner. Towards something so formidable, without making any sort of threat, Yig dropped to the ground, trembling. He¡¯s scared. The most frightening thing of all is¡­ ¡°Appraisal¡± isn¡¯t reacting to him. When I use ¡°Appraisal¡± on the ¡®space¡¯ around him, all it tells me is ¡°something is there¡±. ¡°I will ask again. Who are you?¡± ¡°I am¡­ let¡¯s see, could you call me Bart?¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t even trying to hide that it¡¯s an alias.¡± ¡°Yeah, well I suppose not. I¡¯ve got a reason why I can¡¯t tell you my real name. It¡¯ll be a secret, just like your gifts.¡± ¡°Wha?!¡± (I like to call him ¡°Baut¡± but that¡¯s not really much of a name in English) So he¡¯s saying he even knows about my gifts¡­? ¡°Just how much do you know? What did you come here for?¡± ¡°I believe I know all about you. And I came here to take a look at the ¡°Dragon Slaying Hero¡±.¡± ¡°In that case, you should head over to that merchant group.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in the mock-ups you¡¯ve presented. I believe I said I know all about you.¡± ¡°In that case, I hope you¡¯re satisfied. The exit is that way.¡± I point in the direction behind the boy. ¡°How cold. Aren¡¯t we companions in destroying the commandments of the world?¡± ¡°¡­ Commandments?¡± ¡°Everything that lives, must die¡­ all things born into the world must follow this ¡°unbreakable commandment¡± decided by God. That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about.¡± In other words, he¡¯s saying that he also¡­? ¡°So you are trying to say that you also have eternal youth and immortality?¡± ¡°Though it appears the source of it is different from yours. I also comprehend that you defeated Fafnir¡­ and became quite attached to it as well.¡± Bart sends a light glance towards Yig. He even knows about Fafnir? And he even takes a look at Third Eye. ¡°Well, it would be best not to let its corpse out into the world. At the very least, you do understand that, so I¡¯m relieved.¡± ¡°It is securely sealed. Do not worry.¡± ¡°Honestly I feel that I also want to retrieve the parts that you¡¯ve distributed to ¡®them¡¯ you see. Well, I suppose I¡¯ll leave that within your rights to decide.¡± ¡°¡­ You seem awfully demanding with the things someone else acquired. Who the hell do you think you are?¡± ¡°Me.¡± (Boku-sama) ¡°Don¡¯t screw with me!¡± Crying out, I fully drew Third Eye with the same kind of improved arrow that I used to kill Fafnir. I also fully activated my magic. On top of two types of [Body Reinforcement], I placed two [Lightning] spells in front of me. I composed them into a long rail exceeding 5 meters, inside of which a strong Lorentz force occurs. This is the greatest reason to have iron arrows¡­ a [Rail Cannon]. ¡ªBefore my eyes is an enigma of a being. All I instinctively know is that he is a threat. In which case, I will follow that instinct! The arrow is fired, faster than the speed of sound, into the rail. A dry, light bang, like the sound of a firecracker rings out. But that was the sound of the iron arrow reaching 25 times the speed of sound, and busting through a wall of air. The only other sounds after that were the vibrations dissipating into the surroundings. The arrow melted down from the friction in the air, and flew while vaporizing. Unlike a [Heat Ray], it has mass to it, which makes it spread destruction. At the same time, the resulting shock wave blew me away, and I rolled on the ground. Snap, crack, with every roll comes the sounds of my bones breaking. My left leg, my right arm, the fingers on my left hand¡­ Even so, I didn¡¯t die, which I suppose you could say was lucky for me. The scene before me was destruction for 30 meters, and the endless debris of the grove. 30 meters. The melting arrow could only fly that far. While I can boast about its massive attack strength, the reason it¡¯s not very usable is because of the short range and long preparation time. However the power of it was huge, and all that remained of Bart were his ankles. He completely disappeared. ¡°¡­ Was I able¡­ to beat him?¡± The moment my tiny voice leaked out¡ª The regeneration started. From the ankles, bones, meat, and flesh pile up, and like a video playing in reverse, a person¡¯s shape forms. And it only took tens of seconds. ¡°No way¡­¡± His regeneration speed far surpasses mine. After showing ¡®that¡¯ hard to believe display, he just lightly twists his neck and¡ª ¡°That hurt. Well, I suppose I was also in the wrong for scaring you. There really was no need to suddenly shoot me though.¡± He took my strongest attack, and his impression was simply ¡°that hurt¡±? ¡­ Don¡¯t screw with me. ¡°Maybe it was unreasonable to ask you not to be cautious of me? I would probably attack someone so suspicious too.¡± ¡°¡­ Ah.¡± Right, I attacked him. He didn¡¯t show any clear intention of hostility. I can¡¯t even complain if he attacks me now. This¡­ completely unbelievable being, he¡ª ¡°Well, I¡¯ll let you have your free time for today. Ah, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not your enemy right now. So next time I¡¯d like a warmer welcome.¡± Saying that, he turned around¡ªand disappeared. I didn¡¯t intend on taking my eyes off of him, but I¡¯m not sure when he vanished. What the hell was that¡­? ~*~ ¡°¡­ Is this world some kind of monster hangout spot, Yig?¡± By the time I noticed, my back was already drenched in cold sweat, greasy sweat, and who knows what else. ¡°I kind of feel like taking a bath. Yig, could you go prepare one for me?¡± ¡°Ugyu?¡± I¡¯m covered in mud from rolling on the ground, and though my bones are healed, I¡¯m still bloody. The bath was a joke, but if I don¡¯t make some small talk, then I feel like I¡¯ll faint¡ª ¡°Actually, my legs have given out. I can¡¯t walk.¡± ¡°Gyu~¡± Neither my waist, nor my legs will listen to me. However, my whole body is trembling now. I¡¯m exhausted and anxious, and I just want to sleep¡­ I want to get away from this dream-like reality¡­ ¡°Yuuri! Are you alright?! What happened?!¡± From far away, I could hear my master¡¯s voice calling. That puts my mind at ease. ¡°Thank goodness¡­ I can sleep now.¡± Saying that, I collapsed and fell asleep on the ground. --------------------------------------------------------------- Translator¡¯s Corner: Some escort you turned out to be, Yig! You had ONE JOB! And enter immortal number 2 (actually, number 1) Chapter 40: The Overprotective Master Chapter 40: The Overprotective Master Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations After regaining consciousness and briefly explaining what happened, my master became overprotective. Some specific examples would be¡­ ¡°Master, I¡¯m gonna go pick some flowers.¡± ¡°Flowers? Were you interested in something like that?¡± ¡°Mister Haster, she¡¯s talking about using the toilet. Please understand that.¡± ¡°Ahh, in that case I¡¯ll stay close by and¡­¡± ¡°What kind of play is that supposed to be?! NO!¡± ¡ªOr ¡°Well then Marle, shall we go?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s.¡± ¡°Where are you headed? I¡¯ll go along with¡­¡± ¡°To take a bath! I would be fine with that, but Marle is here too, so please restrain yourself.¡± ¡°I-is that so? In that case I¡¯ll watch over from nearby, so¡­¡± ¡°Master, you¡¯re not allowed to see anyone naked aside from myself, so I¡¯m going to have to refuse.¡± ¡°What kind of reasoning is that?¡± ¡ªAnd things like that. Particularly with the toilet, if I didn¡¯t have miss Leche backing me up, then it was about to turn into a pissing show. Thinking back, I experienced that shortly after meeting him. What a nostalgic memory. Other than that, he¡¯s glued to my side during meals, which is actually pretty dang cute. ¡°Looks like he took your job, Yig.¡± ¡°Ugyuu~¡± ¡°Simply because you lack any sense of danger, Yuuri. You¡¯re being targeted by someone who, on top of not knowing his identity, has regenerative abilities that exceed your own, you know?¡± ¡°He said he¡¯s not our enemy, Master.¡± ¡°And he said that because he knew you would believe him.¡± My master let out an exasperated sigh. You¡¯re making me a little irritated. ¡°But if he intended on killing me, then he could have done so before you got there, Master. That¡¯s how big a difference in power I could feel.¡± ¡°Except you can¡¯t die either. Since he probably knew that, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s possible he just came by to gauge you yesterday?¡± ¡°Hmph, fine. I will be more vigilant from now on, so you need to at least learn to have some delicacy, Master.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying this now?¡± ¡°Is that any way to speak to a lady?¡± ¡°Kgh¡­ I certainly have spent a lot of time living on harsh battlefields¡­¡± That conversation panned out the day after said incident. One more day until we reach Solkalis. For today, the first carriage¡¯s escort is Alec and Wild Horse, and the second carriage¡¯s is Forest Bear. My master, Yig, and I are riding on the third carriage. If that guy happened to come after the corpse, then we¡¯ll be able to meet him with our maximum strength this way. Fuu¡­ It may just be the two of us, but I¡¯m not even slightly nervous! ¡ªI-I wonder if it would be alright to get on his lap? Would it be weird to suddenly get on his lap without a reason? When I was trying to keep miss Bella in check, I went ahead without thinking about it too much, but¡­ I should try asking him beforehand. ¡°M-master, umm¡­ Would it be alright if I got on your lap?¡± ¡°My lap? Ahh¡­ Yig is sitting here right now.¡± ¡°¡­ How dare you, YIIIIIG?! That is my seat. MOVE!¡± ¡°Shagya¡ª!¡± ¡°Why are you picking a fight with a lizard?!¡± In the end, we settled with me sitting on my master¡¯s lap, and Yig sitting on my lap. ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­¡± ¡ªsquirm, squirm, rustle, rustle ¡°Yuuri, could you settle down a bit?¡± ¡°Uhh, it¡¯s just that I was sitting wrong, or I guess you could say I needed to settle in to the perfect spot, or I won¡¯t be able to calm down¡­¡± The vibrations from the carriage are¡­ y¡¯know¡­ right? There¡¯s a certain thing touching me. Maybe he didn¡¯t like my squirming about; Yig ended up migrating on to my head. ¡°Yig, I can¡¯t see in front of us. Could you move from there?¡± ¡°Ugyu~¡± Hmmm, this is no good. Since the other day, my thoughts always end up flowing in ¡®that¡¯ direction. I wonder if this is puberty setting in? Though I thought that had already passed. ¡°Sexually frustrated perhaps?¡± ¡°Who is?¡± ¡°I am.¡± Don¡¯t just silently remove me from your lap like that! ¡°Joking. It was a joke!¡± ¡°Your jokes tend to escalate, so I¡¯m not taking any chances.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gonna do something like that again! ¡­ but, would it be okay if I meant it?¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s not a very funny joke either.¡± Your face is getting a bit red, Master. Feeling warmed by his expression, I tipped over and placed my head on his lap. Yep, I¡¯m using his lap as a pillow. The driver¡¯s seat is a bit confined, but with how small my body is, there¡¯s no problem there. ¡°H-hey now.¡± ¡°Here, Yig.¡± ¡°Shagya!¡± I grab hold of Yig like he¡¯s a body pillow, and take a break on my master¡¯s lap. What a blissful moment! My master gestures as if he can¡¯t do anything about this, and pets my head. ¡°Haa¡­ Don¡¯t drool on me, alright?¡± ¡°My mouth isn¡¯t that bad at staying closed.¡± ¡°I wonder about that.¡± Underneath the glow of the sun, with the gentle swaying of the carriage. The warmth of my master¡¯s lap, and the feeling of holding the pleasantly cool Yig. This is quite¡­ nice¡­ zzzz¡­ ~*~ Afternoon came. It looks like I was out for half the day. Oh, my master is changing his clothes right now. Particularly his pants, which¡­ i-it has nothing to do with me drooling, alright? Even so, I fell asleep again?! Or perhaps in this case I¡¯ve fallen into sleep¡¯s wicked embrace. Is my master¡¯s lap some kind of specialty sleeping pillow? ¡°Master, your lap is a pillow that makes people give in to laziness.¡± ¡°¡­ No matter how serious a face you put on with that commentary, you¡¯re not gonna gloss this over.¡± Watching us, who are seemingly happy even while arguing, from afar, miss Bella drops her shoulders. Look, mister Bhav, now¡¯s your chance! Miss Bella exchanges two, three words with him, grabs a water skin with alcohol in it and went on a walk to gulp it down with him. Mister Bhav followed along in a hurry. Perhaps they¡¯re moving things forward too? ¡°Master, why is this sticky fluid on the nether regions of your pants?¡± ¡°Uh, that¡¯s¡­ Yuuri, she¡ª¡° ¡°Miss Yuuri ¡°did¡± it?!¡± ¡°Yeah, she let out quite a bit on me.¡± ¡°Kyaa¡ª!¡± ¡°Marle, I don¡¯t think he means what you think he means?¡± Marle holds her hands to her cheeks, and turns bright red up to her ears, while Alec lets off a cold sweat. I feel like your girlfriend might be rushing in a dangerous direction, so could you please reign her in a bit more? ¡°I-I¡¯m sure it was Yig wetting the bed!¡± ¡°You were hugging him rather closely though. Don¡¯t blame it on your pet.¡± ¡°Then it must be Yig¡¯s drool! He¡¯s got a long neck so¡ªowow! Don¡¯t bite me!¡± ¡°Shagya¡ª!¡± While trying to pass the blame, I was met with Yig¡¯s counterattack. Why you¡­! Don¡¯t you have any sense of duty to protect your owner¡¯s honor?! ¡°St-hey no- please stop! Your fangs are sharp, they hurt!¡± ¡°You reap what you sow.¡± ¡°Master, I apologize, so please stop him!¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be apologizing to Yig?¡± ¡°Yig, I¡¯m SORRY! Stop, my head is covered in drool. I¡¯m gonna go baaald!¡± His drool is acidic and should be bad for the scalp. I can¡¯t actually go bald, but it still doesn¡¯t feel very good. Eventually, once the dishes were passed out for lunch, he let me off the hook. ¡°Uuuu¡­ Yig, you know you¡¯re letting your gluttony show too much?¡± ¡°Shaa!¡± My face was dripping with drool, so I cast [Stream] and rinsed off with it. Unlike fire-type magic, water-type magic calls forth a physical substance, so its degree of difficulty in magic is higher. Until I learned it, I was making round trips to the well to fill water jugs. Today¡¯s lunch is dried oats turned into a risotto-like oatmeal with fruit, but it doesn¡¯t feel like enough with just that. ¡°Alright Yig, we¡¯re going hunting!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say I admire you taking a stroll immediately after what happened yesterday.¡± ¡°Then would you like to come with me, Master?¡± ¡°Uh, hmm¡­ well, I suppose.¡± My master is quite the glutton, so¡­ actually, come to think of it, everyone around me is¡­ anyway, he probably thought there wasn¡¯t enough too. And so he came along with me to go hunting. ~*~ Flying high in the air, Yig finds his prey and swoops down into a dive. Turning in that direction, I cast [Far Sight], and stand by. The prey, a serpent, gets attacked by Yig, and I prepare my bow to snipe where it jumped out¡­ wait, a snake?! Moreover, it¡¯s huge! ¡°Whoa, quite the big game.¡± ¡°This is beyond ¡®big game¡¯! There¡¯s more than 5 meters to that thing!¡± ¡°Oh, it wrapped around Yig.¡± ¡°AAHHH! Don¡¯t just stand there, save him! Yig, I¡¯m coming!¡± Yig is still a child, and he¡¯s not even 50 centimeters yet, so he could even be swallowed whole. I cast [Body Reinforcement], and immediately take off at a dash. I don¡¯t want him getting caught in my attack, so I have to peel him out of there at a close distance. Since I¡¯m not carrying any close-range weapons, I pull out Third Eye instead to beat the snot out of the snake with. This thing is made from black crystal, and on top of that it has [Toughness] on it, so it¡¯s pretty sturdy. ¡°Why you¡­! Let go of my baby!¡± Slapping sounds come from the strikes. I brought it down on the thing from way above my head, but it didn¡¯t seem very effective. This is what happens when I use my normal strength¡­ I used a huge amount of magic yesterday, so my external magic power mantle is on empty. Perhaps seeing me, who suddenly jumped out at it, as an enemy as well, this time it wrapped itself around me. ¡°Ah, hey¡­ owowow, You¡¯re squeezing, squeezing me, stop, something¡¯s gonna come out of me if you don¡¯t stop!¡± It was squeezing me enough that something would come out of me, so I hurriedly used [Telekinesis] to pull it off. Once the snake was pushed back, Yig used his breath to deliver a final blow. ¡°Sh-should have done this from the start.¡± ¡°As usual, blood rushes to your head so easily.¡± ¡°Stop just standing there and help out.¡± ¡°What? Not with something this easy to deal with. And if it actually got dangerous, then I intended on saving you.¡± In his right hand was a [Wind Blade] ready to be used. With my master¡¯s control of magic, he probably could have launched it without even scratching me or Yig. Canceling the spell, he pulled back some of the snake¡¯s charred skin around the snake¡¯s head, and took a bite. ¡°Ah, Master, no snitching food.¡± ¡°It really needs some seasoning¡­ Well, if I bring it back to camp, then you¡¯ll let me off the hook, right?¡± ¡°Agya!¡± ¡°Here ya go.¡± He tears a chunk of the burnt flesh off, and tosses it to Yig. Then he lifted the rest of it in his arms, and started walking. It¡¯s quite heavy, yet it doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s even a mild burden on for him. ¡°Isn¡¯t it heavy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s no problem. Probably because of the [Dragon¡¯s Blood]. I could even lift it with one arm.¡± ¡°It looks like it¡¯s about 50 kilograms though¡­ Kya!¡± My master held the snake in one hand, and with his other hand, he lifted me. When he lifts me into his arms, my face and my master¡¯s face are right beside¡­ ¡°See? Simple, right?¡± ¡°I-I can see that, now please let me dow¡ª¡° ¡°No need for that, I¡¯ll carry you back like this. Besides, you¡¯re the mighty hunter today.¡± ¡°Eh, uh¡­ th-then¡­ I¡¯ll leave it¡­ to you.¡± I wrapped my arms around his neck, and let him carry me. Will he notice my heart thumping? Or me sneakily burying my face in his hair¡­ It seems I was in a very good mood on this day. --------------------------------------------------------------- Master: ¡°¡­ Bondage play?¡± Yuuri: ¡°That¡¯s why you didn¡¯t attack right away?!¡± Chapter 41: The City of Solkalis Chapter 41: The City of Solkalis Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations We didn¡¯t have any particular problems after leaving Rahon¡­ Uh, except for the visit from Bart, but¡­ Well, like I was saying, we got to Solkalis without any trouble. ¡°Wooah¡­¡± ¡°Yuuri, close your mouth. I do understand how you feel, though.¡± My master gently lifts my dropped jaw and closes my mouth. The view spread out before my eyes was just that amazing. It had a much more rustic atmosphere than the mining town among the mountains image I had, but¡­ It¡¯s huge! The main street is wide enough for two more of these large carriages. To our sides are the eaves of large shops one after another, and in the plaza are stalls lined up in neat rows. Outside the city, thrusting into the sky like a gigantic stone pillar, rises the steep mountainside of Solkal mountain, while a bounty of liquid creates a waterfall down its face. It¡¯s like a picture from a fantasy world. And set in a circle beyond that insane view is a distant view of the World Tree. The top of it is taller than the mountain¡¯s, and grows hazy in the sky, it¡¯s more than I could have hoped for. ¡°This is¡­ Amazing¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s one thing it¡¯s famous for. It¡¯s a collaboration between Solkal mountain and the World Tree.¡± ¡°The city is big too!¡± ¡°It needs to be so they can transport the ore. They make the roads wide to deal with large amounts of exports.¡± ¡°It¡¯s bustling!¡± ¡°That mountain contains the most veins of ore on the entire Garm continent. Of course it¡¯s bustling.¡± I bounce around in excitement on the carriage, expressing my surprise. I wonder how many times my master has been here? He seems quite calm about all this. ¡°Hm, I¡¯ve been here so many times already. It¡¯s mostly a mining area, and I¡¯ve had my fill of the red light dist¡ª¡° ¡°¡­ Master?¡± ¡°Uhh, ahem. It¡¯s nothing.¡± I spice my voice with a bit of threat, and my master tries to smooth things over by clearing his throat. Well, my master is a guy, right? I mean, I understand that he has his needs¡­ But I don¡¯t feel very satisfied by that, of course. ¡°Putting people in that profession aside, you¡¯re not allowed to lay a hand on any of our fellow travelers, alright Master?¡± ¡°I know, I got it. I¡¯m not that much of a philanderer.¡± There¡¯s miss Bella, and miss Ceder¡­ There are people of age around, and it worries me. I pour an icy glare on my master, and he hurriedly puts on an oblivious face. Well, this is¡­ fun in its own way. But if I do this too much, then he might stop liking me, so I¡¯ll stop this for now. I lightly entwine arms with him and return to viewing the town. My master gave off an overt air of relief. ~*~ After proceeding into town a ways, the leading carriage came to a halt. Have we reached our destination? My master also stops our carriage, and heads over to where mister Elric is. ¡°Ah, thanks for all the help mister Haster. This will be the inn where I sojourn. In other words, the escorting ends here.¡± ¡°Ahh, right. A pleasure working with you. I¡¯m glad we arrived safely.¡± ¡°Forest Bear and Wild Horse, thanks for all your help as well. Now for your payment. Here, it should all be there.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks. If you need anything else, remember to call on us.¡± ¡°I kinda feel bad for basically just tagging along.¡± In contrast to my polite master, mister Jack and mister Ayl respond. Having nothing happen as an escort is the absolute best outcome though, mister Ayl? ¡°Hm, there¡¯s more than I expected.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because of everything that happened along the way. I added a little bonus. I¡¯m also taking this opportunity to curry favor with you should fate have us cross paths again.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being quite honest about it. But I don¡¯t have a problem with that. I¡¯ll gladly accept it.¡± We were supposed to get 6 gold coins for each worker, for a total of 12, but the bag handed to us had 20 gold coins in it. Mister Elric is splurging on us. ¡°Thanks again, and if possible, I¡¯d like to request your escort on the way back, too¡­¡± ¡°How long are you planning on staying here?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Bringing in the products, and buying¡­ around 2 weeks I suppose? Well, I can see how that would be too long to ask you to wait.¡± ¡°Sorry, we¡¯ve only made arrangements for 3 days, so unfortunately that won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°No, think nothing of it. I¡¯m asking too much.¡± Maybe we should have expected that he would try to make immediate plans for his escort on the way back? ¡°Bro, you¡¯re only here for 3 days? Stay a little longer!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t, our inn vouchers only go that long. One night at the place is supposed to cost 10 gold coins.¡± ¡°Whoa, don¡¯t tell me, the Heaven¡¯s Echo Inn?! The place rumored to have the best cuisine in Solkalis?!¡± ¡°Oh, does it? It only said that it¡¯s a luxury inn, so I don¡¯t really know much about it.¡± ¡°Jack, forget that, and split up the pay. I can¡¯t go drinking without it.¡± Mister Kale grabbed mister Jack by the back of his collar and dragged him off. ¡°Well then, it¡¯s been great, ¡°Sage of Wind¡±. Should we get the chance, let¡¯s meet again.¡± ¡°Yes, and mister Bhav, be nice to miss Bella, okay?¡± ¡°Stupi-, we¡¯re not like that!¡± ¡°Well, Bhav may not hold a candle to mister Haster, but the rest is in how he¡¯s trained I suppose?¡± ¡°Next time, when we¡¯re not on the job, I¡¯d like to talk more about magic theory with you.¡± Just how much of a magic nerd are you, mister Oreas? They really are a lively group to the end. I wonder if we¡¯ll meet them again some time? ¡°Well then, we must also part here. I hope that you have safe travels.¡± ¡°Marle, regrettably, this is good bye. Let¡¯s meet again sometime.¡± Miss Leche hugs Marle and reluctantly bids her farewell. ¡°And miss Yuuri¡­ I would be happy if you let me touch you next time.¡± ¡°I belong to my master, so I can¡¯t let just anyone touch me. But¡­¡± I gently hugged miss Leche around her waist. Due to the height difference, I always end up around there. ¡°¡ªJust for you, miss Leche, I¡¯ll let you this once.¡± Miss Leche¡¯s face stiffens in shock, then slowly changes to a smile, as she softly hugs me back. Her fragrance reminded me of my mother, who I haven¡¯t seen in so many years. Though I don¡¯t recall ever being hugged like this¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s meet again. Definitely.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a promise.¡± My master looked on us with an affectionate expression. And so, we parted ways with our more than two week long traveling companions. ~*~ At the Heaven¡¯s Echo Inn, my master presents our certificates to the person at the counter. To be blunt, the place was extremely luxurious from the very entrance, so even walking in took a lot of courage. ¡°There are four of us, but these cover it right?¡± ¡°Three nights I see. Yes, these will cover your stay. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Also, can we keep our large carriage outside here? We have important materials loaded on it.¡± ¡°There is an area behind the inn designated for carriages, so that will be fine. We have guards stationed as well.¡± ¡°Great, thanks¡­ And also, this little guy¡­¡± ¡°Agya!¡± Yig gives an energetic reply to my master¡¯s call. ¡°A¡­ Winged lizard?¡± ¡°Well, something like that¡­ I guess.¡± ¡°Potty training would be¡­¡± ¡°No problems there.¡± ¡°In that case, we can accommodate you. However, an additional fee will be added if you would like us to provide food for your pet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no problem, please do.¡± According to our certificates, morning and evening meals, three nights stay, and the affixed open air bath are included free of charge. 30 silver coins were tacked on for Yig¡¯s food, and we were guided to our rooms. There were two rooms, two people each, prepared for us. We divided the rooms with my master and I in one room, and then Alec and Marle in the other. My master strongly insisted that we should divide the rooms between the boys and girls, but us girls pushed against him. Alec¡¯s opinion? We never paid attention to that. We were guided to the fourth floor, which only had four specialty rooms. Upon seeing them, my jaw dropped once again. ¡°Isn¡¯t this room bigger than our cottage¡­?¡± ¡°It is certainly spacious, and luxurious to boot. Selling this carpet alone would net 3 years worth of living expenses. Is it even okay to walk on this?¡± ¡°So it¡¯s your first time in a room like this too, Master?¡± ¡°A more modest room would actually be more comfortable for me. I tend towards frugality.¡± The fluffy carpet¡¯s strands are long enough that they almost go up to our ankles. The bed has a canopy. The sheets have a 100% silk sheen to them. Valuable looking paintings hang on the walls, and even the vases have beautiful patterns glazed on them. At the back of the vast room is an astonishing bath for personal use installed. This is the 4th floor you know? It would seem they have some way to pump hot water up from the water source on the 1st floor. In any case, we shake the dust off from our journey, and change to house wear. ¡°Whoa, it¡¯s so soft and fluffy.¡± ¡°Ooh, this is pretty nice¡­¡± ¡­ Suddenly I thought of stepping on the carpet barefoot, and the sensation was enchanting. The feeling of the fibers tickling my soles is pleasant. My master is in a similar pose as me, getting his fill of the sensation in the same pattern. ¡°This is bad. The temptation of the carpet is too much. Aaah¡­ I want to roll around on it¡­¡± ¡°Stop, you can roll on the bed anyway.¡± ¡°Naturally, I¡¯ll get my fill of that too.¡± ¡°Before that, what should we do for food? The inn only provides dinner and breakfast, so should we grab a meal in the dining hall on the first floor, or go out somewhere?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re gonna do that, then we need to call Alec and Marle over too.¡± ¡°I did at least give them half the travel expenses¡­¡± Hm, in that case, could we also eat alone¡­? We can! Speaking of which, we had changed out of our traveling clothes, so changing clothes again would be a pain. In which case, maybe we should go to the inn¡¯s dining hall? Huh? Come to think of it¡­ ¡°Oh right, where did Yig go?¡± ¡°Ugyuu~¡± I could hear a somewhat bewitched voice coming from the direction of the bath. Going to take a peek, Yig was soaking in the bath tub, wearing a melting expression on his face that couldn¡¯t be aired on public broadcasting. So do dragons like hot springs then? ¡°Would it be best to leave him?¡± ¡°Maybe¡­ yeah. Let¡¯s at least open a window. So he can get in and out if he wants.¡± ¡°Thieves would be¡­ actually, that should be fine. This is the 4th floor.¡± Master, you didn¡¯t forget that you can fly, did you? ¡°Let¡¯s take our valuables with us. It¡¯s an ironclad rule for traveling.¡± ¡°Is it now? Except we don¡¯t really have anything valuable with us.¡± ¡°What do you think you¡¯re wearing right now?!¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± My master is wearing the Fafnir scale mail. When it comes to buying it, I¡¯d say it might cost as much as a whole castle? Besides that, the [Ring of Mental Resistance (Enhanced)] is normally worth 120 gold coins. If it was Japanese yen then it would be about 1,200,000 yen in value. ¡°You¡¯re so forgetful, Master. Who knows what would happen if I wasn¡¯t here.¡± ¡°Certainly that was a lapse on my part, but¡­ No, actually I would be more worried about you.¡± ¡°When it comes to economic sense, I¡¯m way better than you, Master!¡± Hmhm! I brag as I puff out my chest. My master¡¯s sense of economics is bankrupt. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m counting on you, oh great ¡°Sage¡±.¡± ¡°Well then, I¡¯m gonna go tell Alec, and then let¡¯s get going. Yig, take care of the place while we¡¯re out, okay? Don¡¯t go wrecking the place, got it? ¡°Agya~¡± Hearing the sloppy reply, we head out for lunch together, just the two of us. Chapter 42: Master’s Confession Chapter 42: Master¡¯s Confession Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Translator¡¯s Note: I didn¡¯t give myself enough time for this during the week, so I haven¡¯t done a thorough proofreading yet. There may be inconsistencies and spelling mistakes. Pointing them out for me would be appreciated, and I¡¯ll get them fixed at my earliest convenience. And now the chapter: Editing done~ Still, pointing out errors for me is appreciated. The dining hall¡­ Actually this place is basically a restaurant. It seems to be profiting by being managed like a high class restaurant. After taking our seats, a waiter came over to take our orders. ¡°Have you decided on what you¡¯ll be having?¡± ¡°The lunch course. And the same for the lady.¡± ¡°Certainly. We have either the beef or the fish course. Which would you like?¡± ¡°Beef?! Fish?!¡± I raised my voice in slight surprise. Come to think of it, in the years I¡¯ve been here, the only fish I¡¯ve had were freshwater fish. And the meat I¡¯ve had was basically only boar, bear, snake, bird, and the vermin known as keratos¡­ And some pork purchased from the store as well. ¡°Hrmm, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve eaten beef¡­ But it¡¯s hard to turn down fish!¡± ¡°Haa, She¡¯ll have the beef, and I¡¯ll have the fish course please.¡± ¡°Wha, I want to have fish too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll share it with you, and then you can pass some of the beef to me.¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± When the food came, we let each other eat our meals, and stuffed ourselves on the lunch. After the meal, my master ordered a slightly expensive distilled liquor and enjoyed himself with it. All there was in the village was a clouded local sake. They started selling a distilled liquor in Mareba. The new product was called ¡°clear¡± sake, and it rarely went to anyone besides my master who lives on the mountain. There were a lot of orders for it too, so to keep things fair, mister Gusta denied my master¡¯s reservations of it. And there was also the portion that he put aside for himself. ¡°Burp¡­ My belly is so full.¡± ¡°That tends to happen when you devour two portions of dessert.¡± ¡°You know that girls have a separate stomach for desserts, right?¡± I made a small, ill mannered burp while rubbing my belly. I guess I really did eat too much. But when they brought out the frozen sweets, I was beside myself with joy. I liked sweet things quite a bit in my previous life too. ¡°Would you like a drink too Yuuri?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass. I would just get smashed.¡± ¡°You can break it down with ¡°Adaptability,¡± can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Then I wouldn¡¯t even get a little bit intoxicated. There would be no point.¡± Even alcohol gets mercilessly disassembled by it. Moreover, if I disable my ¡°Gift¡± to get drunk, then I¡¯ll get completely wasted at mach speed. ¡°It¡¯s both a convenient and inconvenient ability, huh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a specification.¡± I send back a crisp expression in reply. Filling up on dessert, my stomach became a bit unshapely. ¡°Leaving that aside, I ate a little too much, so is it all right with you if I head back to the room and rest?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯ll head back after I finish this off.¡± ¡°You intend on emptying a whole bottle in the middle of the day, Master?¡± With nothing more to say, I present a very wet stare to my master, who made a remark reminiscent of a useless adult. Isn¡¯t this situation getting a little too far off track? ¡°Well, it was a long journey after all. I¡¯ll take care of the check later, so go head back and get some rest.¡± Humming unconcernedly, my master orders seconds. He wasn¡¯t really the type to drink a lot, so I guess he¡¯s in an especially good mood today. I¡¯m worried about how Yig is doing after we left him in the room, so I decided to head back first. ¡°I¡¯ll be going then. Please don¡¯t drink too much, Master.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± When I put my hands on my hips in an angry manner and warned him, my master responded by making light of it. Hey, you employees watching us with that pleasant look: could you stop that please? ~*~ Upon returning to the room, a wild scene awaited me. Oh, the room wasn¡¯t messed up or anything, that¡¯s not what I mean¡­ It was Yig. It was the first time I¡¯ve ever seen a dragon soaking in a tub with a towel folded on his forehead, gulping down water from a cup. ¡°Y-you¡¯re a surprisingly talented child, Yig.¡± ¡°Ugyuu~¡± ¡°How long are you planning on being in there anyway¡­ Isn¡¯t it hot? Well, I guess compared to how hot your breath is, the water is nothing.¡± ¡°Gaffu, Gaffu, Gaffu¡­¡± ¡°Where did that water even come¡­ Nope, forget it. In any case, I won¡¯t be able to use it like this.¡± This is also the first time I¡¯ve seen a dragon dextrously holding a water jug to its mouth and drinking straight from the bottle. This kid seems to be growing in a very nonsensical direction. But I suppose if I can¡¯t use this bath, then maybe I should go to the open air bath? I think the open air bath here is supposed to be mixed bathing¡­ And as a little scrap of a woman, I¡¯ll need to be quite ready for that. It¡¯ll be a little scary if there are other people there, but¡­ Moreover, I wonder if my master will go in too. ¡°No, my master is drinking in the dining hall right now! Actually, entering the bath together was supposed to be my big goal.¡± I clenched my fists to try and get myself fired up for it¡­ But of course I¡¯m still too embarrassed. Since I¡¯ve started being more self-conscious. Therefore¡­ ¡°¡­ Maybe I should bring a nice big towel with me?¡± Is the questionable line of compromise I decided to execute. ~*~ Swish, went the sliding door, so unusual for this world, as I opened it will all my might. Steam covered the area beyond the door in a haze, and before I knew it the Sealing Magic Mirror had clouded over. But even though my visibility went to practically zero, it¡¯s not like I can take them off. If someone else were to enter, it would turn into a catastrophe. So that I don¡¯t need to take them off, I wipe the glasses with the end of my towel, and regain my field of vision¡­ Alright, nobody¡¯s here. ¡°Whew¡­ I got so nervous for nothing. This is why being outside the cottage is¡­¡± Briefly looking around, the large bath is roughly the size of an average pool. Unflagging bare rocks are placed about, making a nice atmosphere. The stone in the center of the bath has a sculpture carved out of it¡­ Is that¡­ A Manneken Pis? ¡°Hey God, the previous world and this world must have some connection, right? But seriously, seeing such a large quantity of hot water gushing out from a Manneken Pis like this is¡­ Y¡¯know?¡± The little urinating boy in the center is tossing out an abundant stream of hot water into the bath. Whoever thought up this design; show yourself! Ah, anyway¡­ I¡¯ll pretend I never saw that. ¡°Right, the real issue is how the water is, not where it¡¯s coming from.¡± I get some water to wash my body off, and use my towel to gather my hair up. In exchange, my body was bare now, but since I¡¯ve had it for 5 years, I guess I don¡¯t feel much from it? ¡°I¡¯m totally flat and smooth anyway¡­ If I had a more buxom body, then I wonder if I would have played with myself a bit?¡± After washing off my sweat and grime, I submerge myself in the bath. The warmth of the water makes it feel like I¡¯m being sucked in. ¡°Whew¡­ This is fantastic¡­ I think I understand how Yig feels.¡± I¡¯m probably making an expression that I can¡¯t show to anyone else right now. It feels, plain a simple, amazing. This could be bad. It¡¯s comparable to my master¡¯s lap. While I entered that entranced, defenseless state¡ªSwish, went the sliding door as it opened¡­ And my master entered. ¡°WHAA?! M-m-m-m-master, why¡ªso suddenly!¡± ¡°Oh, yoou¡¯re here too, Yuuri. Don¡¯t mind mee.¡± ¡°It¡¯s occupied! By me! Please wait for a bit.¡± ¡°This¡¯ mixed bathing, iisn¡¯ it?¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re kinda slurring your words. Are you drunk?¡± ¡°Yeeah, a bit.¡± On closer inspection, his face is bright red. Will he be okay going into the bath like that? ¡°Aahh, sheesh! Hold on a minute. You have to wash off before you go in the bath¡­¡± ¡°Whoops, sorryy.¡± I take my master¡¯s hand and pull him over to the washing area. Uugh, it¡¯s shaking around¡­ ¡°What is,¡± you ask? What indeed. ¡°Now that we¡¯re here, let¡¯s get your body washed. You understand?¡± ¡°Yeaah, you¡¯re awfully considerate today.¡± My master takes a seat on the stool, and the towel¡­ he didn¡¯t bring a towel? It¡¯s all I have, so I remove the one wrapped around my head and use it. I rinse him with water for a while, then lather up the soap and wash his back. ¡°Since you don¡¯t have any strength, you¡¯re practically tickling me. But it feels really nice.¡± ¡°¡­ Well, good then.¡± Umm¡­ I got used to washing his body back in Rahon, but with both of us naked it feels a bit different¡­ On top of that, I wasn¡¯t ready for any of this. ¡ªCo-conversation! I can fix this mood up if I just start a conversation! ¡°Why did you come to the bath when you¡¯re so drunk?¡± ¡°Hmmm? Solkalis is all about their hot springs, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty simplistic¡­ It¡¯s dangerous to get in a hot bath while you¡¯re drunk.¡± ¡°And I figured you¡¯d be here too, Yuuri.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I-in other words¡­ This is exactly the kind of situation that my master was trying for? Being in the bath with me? That¡¯s what my master wants? ¡°Why¡­ are you acting like this?¡± ¡°I was worried about you, Yuuri.¡± ¡°This is an inn. There¡¯s nothing dangerous here.¡± ¡°There¡¯s that weirdo following you around, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Uu¡­ But the entrance is being watched by the inn¡¯s employees, right?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll just say it honestly. I wanted to get in with you. Because I like you.¡± ¡°Hwha?!¡± Wh-what did he just say? Did I mishear¡­ Wait, I¡¯m sure he meant it in a family sense, or, you know, something like that. Fufufu, you think I¡¯d misunderstand? While I came to a self-contained conclusion like that, my master took me into a somewhat rough embrace. I, who was behind my master, was pulled to his side and entwined with him as he hugged me tightly. ¡°I¡¯ll say it once more, Yuuri. I love you.¡± My master¡­ by how he said it, I could tell that he was completely serious. His words expressed how much he wanted me. There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t be happy. I embrace my master¡¯s body in return, and tears flowed from me. ¡°Am I¡­ Good enough for you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re all I want, Yuuri.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a child, you know?¡± ¡°You just turned 15 a while back.¡± ¡°Umm¡­ But I can¡¯t do anything lewd? Because of the effects of ¡°Sacred Treasure¡±.¡± ¡°As long as we have these ¡°rings,¡± we¡¯ll manage somehow.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t have children.¡± ¡°We could always adopt. In fact, maybe we should adopt Alec?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not, please.¡± My master put on a joking air. However, he hugged me all the tighter¡­ It¡¯s almost like he was strongly hugging me to say he wouldn¡¯t let me get away. When I raised my face to look at him, he had an anxious expression. It was rare on my master, who was always calm and composed. ¡ªWhy does he look so worried¡­? ¡°So, umm¡­ Will you¡­ Give me a reply? Or perhaps you don¡¯t like old people like me?¡± ¡°¡­ Oh, no way! I wouldn¡¯t¡­ dislike that.¡± Answering such, I shift positions, and hug my master while sitting on his lap. I rest my head in his arm¡­ and bring my face close¡ª ¡°If you¡¯ll have me, then¡ªgladly.¡± With a faint, sighing voice, I accepted his proposal. After that, we exchanged our first kiss as man and woman¡ª ¡°How did you like your first time in the bath, Master?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t stop one thing from leading to another.¡± --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: It was rather quick, but it¡¯s the second arc¡¯s climax. Chapter 43: Master Awakens (Mainly in a Sexual Sense) Chapter 43: Master Awakens (Mainly in a Sexual Sense) Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Comments: This chapter contains sexual content. Reader discretion is advised. --------------------------------------------------------------- I awoke to a languid malaise and the sunlight shining through the window. From how considerably high the sun had climbed, I could tell that it was near noon. ¡°Aaah, yesterday was amazing¡­¡± Yesterday, after ¡°doing it¡± a number of times in the bath, we went back to our room to flirt and sleep together to our hearts content until supper. By the way, my master unhesitatingly removed Yig from the bath, and threw him out the window. My ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡± strengthened master¡¯s stamina is completely absurd. Afterward, since I couldn¡¯t stand at that point, my master carried me off, we had dinner, we quickly returned to our room, and he had his way with me until I passed out. Perhaps due to the effect of the ¡°Ring of Resistance,¡± my master didn¡¯t lose his mind¡­ Wait, maybe in a sense he did lose his mind? Anyway, like normal(?), he treated me lovingly. ¡°I was conscious up to around when the date should have changed¡­¡± My lower abdomen is still giving off a discomforting dull pain from last night¡¯s recklessness. Goodness, Master really overdid¡ª ¡°HAH! Master, are you oka¡ªUGYAH!¡± He really shouldn¡¯t be okay after going at it for that long. As I woke myself in a hurry to check on my master¡¯s health¡­ I rolled off the bed. My arms are quivering, and my legs have nothing left in them. They¡¯re completely powerless. ¡°Hrgh, nnnnngh!¡± I barely manage to pull myself up to the bed, and taking a look I see that there¡¯s nobody there. If he¡¯s not here, then does that mean he¡¯s fine? ¡°I guess this means¡­ I can breathe a sigh of relief for now?¡± ¡°Morning, Yuuri. You¡¯re awake already?¡± Just as I caught my breath, I heard the sound of the door opening behind me. My master came back. ¡°Good morning, Master. Where did you go?¡± ¡°Before that, are you doing okay? It¡¯s noon already, so since they stopped breakfast here at the inn, I went out to get some from a stall and bring it back here. Have some of it in a bit.¡± My master is interacting with me like normal, almost as if nothing happened at all¡­ It kind of feels like it¡¯s not enough. Like, where¡¯s my ¡°good morning kiss¡± and stuff? Creeping up onto the bed, I hide my body in the sheets, and puff up my face a bit. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m fine, but what about you Master? With ¡°Sacred Treasure¡¯s¡± effect and all¡­¡± ¡°Aah, the ¡°Ring¡± displayed greater effectiveness than I expected. At the very least, I retained my sanity to the end.¡± ¡°And when exactly were you ¡°sane¡± in all that?¡± ¡°Erk, well uhh¡­ I won¡¯t deny that I went a bit overboard. And for about 3 hours at that I think? After about that much, the ring reached its limit and broke.¡± ¡°And were you okay?!¡± ¡°Yeah, it got pretty dangerous for a moment there¡­ As soon as the ring broke, I felt the kick from my back giving out running through me. I interrupted things in a hurry at that point. If this was before I had the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡± effect, I wouldn¡¯t have made it in time.¡± Even my master couldn¡¯t endure it then. This means the ¡°Ring of Resistance¡± is required. But for right now¡­ Why is my master looking at me so questioningly? ¡°Yuuri, umm¡­ You¡¯re still calling me ¡°Master¡±?¡± ¡°¡­ Oh. You mean, I should call you by your name, maybe?¡± Using his name¡­ Just thinking about it makes me feel like my ears are burning. ¡°Uh, umm¡­ Ha-Haster.¡± ¡°Yeah, I like it that way.¡± ¡°It¡¯s kinda¡­ Embarrassing.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it soon.¡± Haster sits down beside me, and kisses me on my now warm ear. ¡°Ah! N-no, don¡¯t! You don¡¯t have a ring on, so I¡¯m ¡°withholding¡± anything past this!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, come to think of it¡­ But I don¡¯t mind losing my head if it¡¯s over you.¡± Haster seems to have said something embarrassing, so I¡¯m gonna avoid the topic and poke some fun at him. I must recapture the flow of the conversation. Sitting on the bed, with my nude body wrapped in the sheets, I lightly hold my hair up provocatively. If possible, I wanted it to look like a pose I had seen in my previous life. ¡°I said nooo. Aww~, we¡¯ll have to put it off until we get back to the cottage. It¡¯s too baaad¡ª.¡± ¡°¡­ Right, Yuuri. Could you take a look at this?¡± ¡°I-is it really big¡­?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Anyway, they don¡¯t call this place a mining town for nothing. After searching for some rings crafted in silver, they just came pouring out of the woodwork.¡± With clinks and clanks, he spilled around 20 silver rings onto the bed. These are¡­? ¡°Engagement rings?¡± ¡°Why would I have brought 20 of them if that¡¯s what they were for? They¡¯re raw materials for ¡°Rings of Mental Resistance.¡±¡± ¡°Well, I figured as much. But were you planning on setting up shop in this city?¡± ¡°Of course not. These rings are¡­ I bought them so that I could thoroughly enjoy you.¡± ¡°Hwah?!¡± Along with a smirk, an unusual and wicked expression crossed Haster¡¯s face. H-he¡¯s gonna devour me! He already devoured me though. ¡°I¡¯ve already seared the magic circles onto them. Now they just need to be filled with magic power, but you would be faster at that, wouldn¡¯t you Yuuri?¡± Wai- you got 20 of them though? Yesterday¡¯s ring held out for around 12 hours, so¡­ Oh my god¡­ ¡°With only this many, they¡¯ll last for 10 days if we don¡¯t rest. Having to stop part-way through last night is making things a little tough for me.¡± ¡°Wh-wh-wh-wh-what are you even saying?! If we do that, then I¡¯ll die you know?¡± ¡°That worry is unnecessary with you though, Yuuri. Seriously, the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡± is too effective; it¡¯s a bit intense. It feels like I¡¯m back in the uncontrollable days of my youth, I suppose?¡± ¡°What kind of devilish things are you saying?! Even I can die. I just revive!¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll make you feel so good that you¡¯ll practically die from it.¡± ¡°Yesterday was my limit!¡± ¡°¡­ Is that a no?¡± L-looking at me with those abandoned puppy dog eyes isn¡¯t¡­ I won¡¯t give in, I WON¡¯T! ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡ªCome on, how could I possibly turn him down? Following that flow of events, I lent a hand in creating the tools of my own torture. ~*~ ¡°Uuuu, you¡¯re such a brute, Haster.¡± After that, he was on the attack all the way until dinner time, with a repeating cycle of fainting and awakening¡­ My whole body is exhausted, and since my legs won¡¯t carry me at this point, dinner was fed to me while on Haster¡¯s lap. While the people in the establishment watched us with pleasant smiles, we returned to our room. As a note, I¡¯m glad this room has a bath. If it didn¡¯t, then the our sticky, messy appearances would have been on display for everyone as we headed to the large bath. ¡°What are you saying? This is where the real fun starts.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a lot rougher on girls than I expected.¡± Getting back to the room, Haster tossed me onto the bed, and came towards me. Since having this body, this whole experience is the first time I¡¯ve consented, and even ¡°wanted it,¡± but¡­ I¡¯m being swung around by the sensations of disarray and indulgence that I¡¯m falling into from it. Though when he forces things, all I feel is pain. My body still isn¡¯t one that enjoys that kind of thing, but even so the places where I connect with him feel wonderful, and a bit mysterious¡­ As he crawls over me, the sensation of his hands feels very pleasant. ¡°Huaah¡­ Ah, if you¡¯re the one doing it, then even if you¡¯re forceful, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll fall right into it.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? Then let¡¯s try that.¡± ¡°Humuh?! Mmphuu¡­ Puhah.¡± My limbs flap around in confusion at suddenly being kissed deeply. I don¡¯t put up any resistance to it though. ¡°Doing that all of a sudden is mean!¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t do it suddenly, then it doesn¡¯t feel very forceful, does it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not an adolescent youth, so please be a little more composed with your demands.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve probably got several times more vigor than back then. To be honest, I can¡¯t restrain myself anymore, so I hope you¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°HIIIE!¡± I scream in a manner probably unthinkable for a woman in the middle of whispered intimacies, and retreat. This is basically the same as if the ¡°Ring of Mental Resistance¡± wasn¡¯t on! ¡°Huhu, it¡¯s your own body¡¯s fault for being too good, Yuuri.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ¡°Sacred Treasure¡¯s¡± effect!¡± ¡°Indeed. I never was into little girls before this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bring that up. I¡¯m so sorry for being totally flat!¡± ¡°You would excite me no matter what you look like, Yuuri. What your figure happens to be is like a bonus.¡± ¡°Even if I was a boy?¡± It really is a pointless question. But in the end it does bother me a bit. If I went back to referring to myself as a male later, he would probably be at his wits¡¯ end. ¡°There¡¯s not much point in that supposition, is there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a ¡°what if¡± scenario. If I was a boy, then¡­¡± ¡°If that the case, then¡­ I probably would have been wondering if I was homosexual or not.¡± ¡°In other words¡­?¡± ¡°Even if you were a boy, the fact that ¡°I love you¡± wouldn¡¯t change, is what I¡¯m saying.¡± Upon hearing his lines, tingles run through my body. Along my back, through my lower regions, and through my brain. He strokes my hair, and just by the feeling of his hand touching the nape of my neck, I twitch in reaction. ¡ªIt¡¯s no good¡­ I can¡¯t hold it in anymore. ¡°I¡¯m sure¡­ I would have felt the same way.¡± Whispering that, I wrapped my arms around Haster¡¯s neck, and kissed him as if I was devouring him. That night, I was in such disarray that the feeling of time, and my cognition as a person disappeared. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: The next one is planned to be the end of this act. Translator¡¯s Note: I may have fudged a few of the lines in here, particularly at parts where the author uses more vague terms, or ones that could be interpreted in multiple ways. I could really feel my lack of experience with the language when translating this one. orz Pointing out any mistakes or odd phrasing is appreciated. Chapter 44: The Place We Reached Chapter 44: The Place We Reached Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations ¡°HASTER, YOU JEEEEEEEERK!!¡± ¡°AGYAA!¡± ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry.¡± In the 5 years since I came here, have I ever shouted at him this seriously before? That¡¯s how much this is going to my head. I¡¯m pissed. By the way, Yig is also angry about being thrown out the window as soon as we got back to the room. 3 days have passed since then. In other words: it¡¯s checkout day. Right now we¡¯re getting all our baggage together and gathering in the lot where our carriage is parked. The places where I¡¯ve gone in these 3 days are¡­ The bed, the dining hall, and the bath. Only those three places in rotation. ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t get mad about this?! Three days went by and we didn¡¯t go sightseeing, or shopping, or trying out the local restaurants, or ANYTHING!¡± ¡°Ahhh, yeah. I¡¯m reflecting on my actions; I went a little overboard. Even so, I don¡¯t regret a moment of it.¡± ¡°Start regretting it.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± A person¡¯s energy is supposed to be derived from their base vitality. Under normal circumstances, Haster¡¯s vitality was close to three times an ordinary person¡¯s. Having that tripled again by the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡± resulted in something outrageous. Let¡¯s say, for example, that an ordinary person giving it his absolute best can do it 3 times in a night. Originally he would have tripled that for 9 times, which would have been a plenty extraordinary amount. If that¡¯s further enhanced another 3 times¡­ It becomes an amazing 27 times. Moreover, since healing magic can reinvigorate him, the number of times is magnified even further. It was the situation of ¡°having more sexual desire than he knows what to do with,¡± in exactitude. ¡°I¡¯m really¡­ REALLY gonna die, you know?!¡± ¡°Yeah, I was a bit surprised when you couldn¡¯t speak any human language anymore. I thought you broke.¡± ¡°I DID break! ¡°Adaptability¡± just healed me!¡± ¡°Even when you¡¯re broken, you¡¯re still cute.¡± ¡°Th-thank¡­ Agh, stop that!¡± ¡°Can I break you some more?¡± ¡°NO!¡± You¡¯re not getting off the hook by complementing me! And please don¡¯t slip in such sinister lines like that. ¡°Aww, miss Yuuri is part of a stupidly lovey dovey couple now too.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve always been that way, but it¡¯s advanced more rapidly now.¡± ¡°Are we going to end up that way as well?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Marle, you¡¯re much more sensible than Yuuri.¡± ¡°HEY! Stop talking about me like I¡¯m insan¡ªwait, what¡¯s that ring, Marle?¡± Aside from the silver ¡°Ring of Mental Resistance,¡± she¡¯s wearing another simple silver ring with an emerald in it¡­ on her left hand¡¯s ring finger. ¡°Eh, ehehe¡­ Sir Alec bought it for me.¡± ¡°¡­ Oho. And you¡¯re saying we¡¯re a stupid couple.¡± ¡°Hey, look¡­ You could have Master buy one for you too, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Yig, you may eat that ring.¡± ¡°NOO!¡± Thus I ordered Yig, who is completely captivated by the sparkling jewel. Well, he can read the mood, so he¡¯s not actually going to eat it though. In any case, this means that while I was passed out on the bed, Marle was steadily piling up flags, wasn¡¯t she¡­? Marle¡¯s expression shows how completely enraptured she already is. So this is a ¡°promise ring,¡± given to her in childhood by a boy¡­ I¡¯m jealous. And I was in my room ceaselessly and uncontrollably making ¡°inhuman moaning,¡± while that happened? Upon realizing the excessive disparity in our situations, I turn my stare towards Haster. ¡°Really, I¡¯m honestly reflecting here.¡± ¡°You made me master Misakura-ese without even trying. As if you would understand a maiden¡¯s feelings!¡± I look away with a ¡°Hmph!¡± I am seriously mad. ¡°Ahh, sheesh, fine. How about we stay for another night on our own coin? We can leave town tomorrow.¡± Saying that, Haster hugs me around my shoulders. All things said and done, that¡¯s sweet of him. ¡°All according to plan (smirk)¡± as they say. ¡°Is that okay, Master?¡± ¡°Ah right, we wouldn¡¯t want you getting fired from your job. Mister Halt will probably be worried too, so we can¡¯t stay for long, but one more night should be fine.¡± That¡¯s all well and good, but hey, Haster? Why is your hand moving down below my wais¡­ Aaahnn. ~*~ Naturally we didn¡¯t go to the luxury inn, and instead got a room at a slightly high-end inn on the main road. For now, I¡¯ve issued a ban on sexual activity to Haster. When I issued the ban, his expression was quite the sight to see. A sadistic side of me was subconsciously stimulated by it, and I almost ended up being the one to break said ban. Anyway, now we can take our time on a sightseeing tour today. ¡°First we need food. Since it¡¯s lunch time, let¡¯s go take a look at the food stands in the plaza.¡± ¡°Su-sure.¡± I cling to Haster¡¯s arm and pull him with my whole body to hurry him along. As a Japanese person, the most necessary things are food, and baths. Even if housing and clothes are left for later, if I have these two things, then I am satisfied. Such is my national character. Alec and Marle? They were off in their own world, so we left them to their own devices. They can go explode while they¡¯re at it. Well, since Yig is escorting them, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be fine¡­ What I¡¯m particularly worried is Marle¡¯s chastity, y¡¯know? Though I don¡¯t think Alec is a fiend like Haster. ¡°As expected, even just the stalls of a tourist spot have an abundance of choices.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because, though this place may not be suitable for farming, in its place the ore mining benefits the economy. So they make use of the constant flow of merchants, who frequently bring in foodstuffs.¡± ¡°Such is a trade city I see.¡± ¡°Wheat, meat, eggs and the like are all daily necessities after all. They¡¯re certain to turn a profit, which seems to make them a popular product choice.¡± The stalls have classic noodle dishes too, whose ingredients could otherwise be used for bread. Once those are consumed, that means vegetables and meat also end up as essentials. ¡°Which means the economy here is functioning well. Ah, two of these Yakisoba please. Also, one of those things sandwiched between the bread.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t overeat now?¡± ¡°If there¡¯s too much, then I¡¯ll have you eat the rest.¡± ¡°I want to eat you. Sexually.¡± ¡°¡­ Please give me a break today.¡± Since that day he¡¯s been acting a lot more masculine and less formal when we¡¯re all alone. Maybe he¡¯s doing it so I don¡¯t need to put on airs around him? He¡¯s also not hiding any of his desires now. It¡¯s straightforward, it¡¯s nonstop, and I need a break from it. My body isn¡¯t all that robust. ¡°Oooh, there¡¯s something like a chocolate covered banana!¡± ¡°Looks like it¡¯s a banana with a coffee and sugar mixture baked onto it. Says it¡¯s a local specialty.¡± ¡°Sweets are important after all. Give me the biggest one of these you have please.¡± ¡°Mine is bigg¡ª¡° ¡°Shut up.¡± What should I do? His nymphomania isn¡¯t stopping. He said himself that, ¡°I was aware of my feelings for you about three years ago, and two years ago I became confident in them.¡± Then when he continued and said, ¡°so there¡¯s two years worth built up,¡± my spine was so chilled that it froze. Two years¡­ Thinking of it that way, I suppose his current sexually obsessed state makes sense? ¡°This is more of that¡­ Build up that you were talking ameowt?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t answer that so positively.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t help it, tonight may be a good time for the red light dis¡ª¡° ¡°Fine, I get it. The ban will only be until night time.¡± Since some disturbing words started escaping his lips, I quickly proposed a compromise. I¡¯m not letting anyone else touch him! I could hear the smirk spread across Haster¡¯s face as he looked my way¡­ Damn it, he was baiting me?! ¡°You plotted that, didn¡¯t you¡­?¡± ¡°What might you be talking about?¡± ¡°¡­ Hmp, be gentle, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I¡¯d like to think this increased sexuality is temporary. I¡¯m sure if everything that¡¯s built up gets let out, he¡¯ll go back to his old calm self. Let¡¯s think of it that way for now. ¡°You two are being sweeter than my goods. Could you do that somewhere besides in front of my stand?¡± ¡°M-my apologies!¡± ¡°Sorry about that, we¡¯ll leave in a moment. Just settling some plans for later.¡± ¡°Your partner¡¯s a midget, so hold back a bit!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do that.¡± Who are you calling a midget?! I may look similar to one, but I¡¯m still grow¡­ Okay, I¡¯m not growing, but you¡¯re wrong, okay!? ~*~ After being driven off by the old man at the stand, we went to a viewing platform on the outskirts of the city. We can calmly eat our meal at a place like this. While sitting on a bench, the yakisoba, juice, bread, and sweets that we bought are arrayed on our laps. ¡°Hmm, the seasoning seems a bit strong.¡± ¡°It is a town of laborers. I¡¯m sure they prefer a strong taste.¡± ¡°But when it¡¯s this strong, it makes me thirsty.¡± ¡°Which is probably why they sell juice too. Here.¡± ¡°Aah, thanks.¡± He¡¯s at least calm while we¡¯re having our meal. I¡¯m already full at this point, so I hand the juice over to him, and wipe away the sauce around his mouth, bravely taking care of him. After the time passed like that for a while, Haster opened his mouth with a meek look on his face. ¡°Hey, Yuuri. I probably¡­ don¡¯t have all that much time left in me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡ª¡° ¡°The average life expectancy here is less than 70 years. I probably don¡¯t even have 10 years left.¡± ¡°Haster¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°And so, Yuuri¡± He looked at me with a serious face, and then pointed his finger off in a certain direction. Beyond the mountain, where stands a particularly large tree¡­ The World Tree. ¡°Do you remember the stories about the World Tree?¡± ¡°Yes, if I recall¡­ In its trunk is a labyrinth extending 1000 floors, and beyond it, at the tree¡¯s summit, grows a thriving sprout. And also the dragon king, the hero Bahamut, brought along 100 companions, and he alone succeeded in conquering it.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what the story was. And as a result, after he ate the sprout at the top, he won eternal youth and immortality. And that¡¯s why one day, I¡¯m thinking of climbing that tree too.¡± ¡°¡­ Eh?¡± ¡°At this rate, if I just wait around I¡¯ll quietly grow old and it¡¯ll be the end. And lately my aging has been really catching up with me. Though most of it is probably covered up by the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡± now.¡± ¡°B-but¡­ Isn¡¯t it just a legend?¡± In the eternal youth and immortality legend, it¡¯s said the world was burned up by the dragon king¡¯s flames. But this world quite clearly still exists. So in other words, doesn¡¯t that make it likely that the legend is a lie¡­? ¡°Certainly, that possibility is quite likely. However, to continue living together with you, it will be absolutely necessary to have eternal life. Because I don¡¯t want to leave you alone. And because I don¡¯t want to part from you.¡± ¡°Haster, I¡¯m¡­ Me too, together with¡­ But¡­¡± Words clogging together is apparently something that actually happens¡­ There are a lot of things I want to say. There are a bunch of my thoughts that I want to tell him. But not a single one is forming into words. All the words are getting caught in the back of my throat, and aren¡¯t leaving my mouth. ¡°¡­ And this is proof of my promise.¡± He took my hand, and taking ¡°that¡± from out of his pocket, he placed it on my finger. Just like Marle¡¯s was, he put it on my left hand¡¯s ring finger. Decorated with a diamond; not a fake or a toy, but a very real¡­ ¡°From now on, will you take the Albine name for your own?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± In other words¡­ Marriage? That means he¡¯s¡­ proposing to me? ¡°O-of course, if you don¡¯t want to then it¡¯s perfectly fine to refuse, see? You, no need to worry, me, about me.¡± He saw me not saying anything in my disarray, and tangled up his words while fast-talking. My words aren¡¯t coming out¡­ Because they weren¡¯t not coming out, in their place I gave a small nod, hugged him and replied with a kiss. And in this way, my name changed from simply ¡°Yuuri,¡± to ¡°Yuuri Albine.¡± --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: Thus ends the second act. Chapter 45: The Melancholy of God Chapter 45: The Melancholy of God Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The victim this time is quite aggressive. No, perhaps the previous victim was simply too timid? ¡°Well, that being the case, what I am saying is you were not originally fated to die like that.¡± ¡°As if I could just agree to this nonsense! If you¡¯re God, then bring me back to life!¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I cannot. More precisely, I could, but the damage to your body would cause you to die again the moment you are brought back.¡± ¡°Then you can do it after you regenerate my body!¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I cannot. Events that are observed by others become set in stone to the world. There were many who witnessed your death.¡± Upon hearing my explanation, the man began screaming at me, with spittle flying from his mouth. Looking at it this way, the previous one was abnormally calm. Perhaps it is a difference in the vessel. For a short while, I quietly listen to the man¡¯s vilification of me. He continued his shouting for nigh on 30 minutes. In a sense, it is impressive. But I cannot simply listen forever. ¡°I understand how you feel. However, your body was destroyed; this is a matter that is already settled. Even as a god, I cannot reverse this.¡± ¡°Tch, and you call yourself God?! You¡¯re useless!¡± ¡°That is exactly the case. So then, as compensation I can grant you one of three choices.¡± Though it was due to my subordinate¡¯s clumsiness, as with the previous time, being disparaged this much truly breaks one¡¯s heart. Yet thanks to that, I don¡¯t feel particularly anguished by processing such clerical work. In a sense, it¡¯s helpful. ¡°Number one, have you die as is.¡± ¡°As if I would agree to that!¡± ¡°Number two, I send your spirit back to your body, and have it immolate itself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s WORSE than dying!¡± ¡°Number three, have you reincarnated in another world.¡± ¡°Uh, say what now?¡± If a body¡¯s destruction is recognized by others, and confirmed by the world, then I cannot interfere, nor restore the body. It would birth contradictions. However, what of a different world? By constructing a new body in a place where not a single person can see, it is possible to slip a person in. To that end, ¡°the same world¡± is out of the question. The reason being, the body where the soul previously took residence yet remains in the same world. Even if it were ground to dust, or turned to ash, the soul would attempt to return to its original place. ¡°Put simply, if you were to be reincarnated in the same world, your broken body would call back your spirit, and you would simply end up dead or bound by your own self.¡± ¡°What the hell¡­ There¡¯s only one real choice here isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Well, yes, I suppose. So then, your forced reincarnation is due to a mistake on our part. As compensation, I would not hesitate to give you a number of accommodations, you see?¡± ¡°So like, reincarnation cheats then¡­? In that case, let¡¯s see¡­¡± The man brings his hand to his chin in thought. Well, I doubt he would make as outrageous of demands as the man from before. After a period of thought, appearing to have come to a conclusion, the man raised his face and said thus to me; ¡°¡­ Okay, give me the absolute strongest ¡°power¡±; make me unbeatable.¡± ¡°Hm, very well. I can manage that much I suppose¡­¡± How truly simple. That should even be easy to fulfill on this side. In which case, shall I make use of ¡°that position¡±? ¡°Then, I shall send you to the other world. I bid you have a good trip.¡± ~*~ I, who sent the man off to another world, now have my subordinate standing before me. ¡°Whaaaa, I¡¯m very sorry, lord God~!¡± ¡°To think that this would happen a second time¡­¡± My subordinate appeals to me with teary eyes. However, after drastically changing the destinies of two people, I cannot simply let it go unpunished. I must present an appropriate punishment to keep up appearances at the very least¡­ I think I¡¯ve got it. ¡°This will be both punishment and reward. I will have you fly over to him, and the victim from before, and you will act as their support.¡± ¡°Eh, you mean you¡¯re removing me from being responsible for this world?¡± ¡°That will indeed be the result of it. I admire that a high level god of destruction such as yourself would be willing to govern the balance of a world as a grim reaper, but the scale of the disasters you cause to induce deaths are too large.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not very good at detailed work!¡± ¡°Thereupon you drag the surrounding humans into the mix of the disasters you cause, which only brings me problems.¡± The first human was caught in the force that pushed the victim, and died along with him. He seemed to think that his bracelet was caught on the victim, but in truth it was not so. The man this time was accidentally mixed into where a steel frame fell. Or perhaps I should say that the steel frame was too large. Her power is strong even half-heartedly used, so it is very easy for others to become collateral damage. And her lack of wariness for that is a problem. ¡°Bah, it is nothing to worry about. It is not a demotion, but a punishment in the form of a dispatch. Since individuals with such strong destinies were sent in, there will be many who are caught in with them. I would like you to go as their support.¡± ¡°What do you mean by support?¡± ¡°Strong destinies cause large incidents. I will have you cause other smaller incidents, and play the role of one who breaks the waves caused by their destinies.¡± ¡°That seems like a pain.¡± ¡°That attitude seems quite unfitting for a grim reaper.¡± ¡°Aww, come on!¡± One who is reincarnated and holds ¡°An Indomitable Body,¡± and ¡°The Greatest Strength,¡± is unlikely to be able to quietly complete their life span. The first one doesn¡¯t have a life span to begin with. Because I fulfilled his ¡°Ageless¡± wish. I will take the initiative to cause some small bits of trouble, and control the incidents that occur as much as is possible. Otherwise, I know not what kind of trouble they¡¯ll wind up causing¡­ At any rate they hold the power of god within them, after all. ¡°Good grief, who exactly was it that said ¡°God¡± is omnipotent and omniscient? Even though all I can do is ¡°put the pieces back together¡± after the fact.¡± ¡°Ah, I know what you mean. Like a character that mutters, ¡°¡­. Just as I thought.¡± after something is over and done with.¡± ¡°I can do no more than assume an air of knowing after seeing the results. Otherwise I am simply guiding them towards their situations.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite wicked. Almost like you¡¯re the ¡°Devil¡±.¡± ¡°Two sides of the same coin. A ¡°test from God¡± is also a ¡°temptation by the devil¡±.¡± If it can be overcome, then it is a ¡°test,¡± and if not, a ¡°temptation.¡± It is interpreted at one¡¯s own convenience. Though I¡¯m not one to talk. I have attempted to speak with those who act religious many times, but those people would only give out exaggerated lines such as, ¡°God¡¯s will is deeper and wider than we can understand.¡± Do they not see how disrespectful it is to abandon the explanations of the one they have faith in, and yet continue spreading their faith? After that I held a meeting with her, discussed, and came to conclusions on several matters. Since the other world has their own God, I cannot overtly intervene, but incidents caused by reincarnated individuals are outside of my jurisdiction. If I reincarnate her as a person, then I can make any excuse I please. ¡°Such is what I ask of you. I sincerely hope you do not fail.¡± ¡°Roooger that! I¡¯ll do my best!¡± I seal her power, and send her to the body prepared for her in the other world. Well then, how will the state of affairs proceed from now on¡­? Though no matter what may happen, I can simply look at the results and mutter, ¡°Just as I thought¡­¡± --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: Some light foreshadowing before the 3rd act begins¡­ Though I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯ll be easily picked up on or not! Translator¡¯s Note: Some of the more foreshadow-y remarks may be slightly off simply because I¡¯m not up to what they foreshadow yet. If they are off, then they shouldn¡¯t be too far off, but I wanted to make note that my translation may change if I find it needs it later. I am more-or-less satisfied with the translation of this chapter now that I¡¯ve read through the whole story~ Chapter 46: The Forbidden Fruit Chapter 46: The Forbidden Fruit Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations 3rd Act: The Buisness Trip Author¡¯s Note: Here starts the 3rd act. Suddenly, it¡¯s the climax! --------------------------------------------------------------- A month has passed since our tumultuous family trip. Haster and I were married when we got back to Mareba, and the merrymaking of the village-wide celebration lasted until just the other day. Since a month has passed, as would be expected, his ¡°uncontrollable¡± condition has calmed down, and on the surface he has gone back to being as collected as he used to be. Though at night he continues to be a wild animal of course. While we are married now, since we¡¯ve already been living together, nothing much has changed as far as our lifestyle is concerned. I guess the biggest changes are that I call him Haster instead of Master now, and we do a little ¡°work¡± before we sleep, but that¡¯s about it. Oh right, Yig is staying with Marle right now. Because it would be a problem if she was kidnapped again. And besides, we¡¯re newlyweds, right? ¡°So, that being said, Alec,¡± ¡°Y-yeah?¡± ¡°At this rate it seems like the nickname, ¡°Sex-Crazed Loli Slut Sage,¡± is going to stick, so I¡¯m thinking of seriously doing my job.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± In return for spreading that name around I gave an ¡°Electric Jolt,¡± as a present, to mister Gusta. That aside, there are many things that I wanted to investigate from our trip. ¡°For example, during our trip I kept thinking about it, but I felt that our equipment is too big to transport reasonably.¡± ¡°Yeah, like my Sentinel is definitely difficult to carry around.¡± ¡°And after thinking about it, I came to this!¡± I take a single long armlet out from my pocket. This is the culmination of a month¡¯s efforts. ¡°What, an armlet?¡± ¡°This is no ordinary armlet. You remember the [Teleport] trap from that bandit case; it¡¯s got that built into it.¡± ¡°So you mean it¡¯s an armlet for teleporting?¡± ¡°¡­ I could have used it that way, couldn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Uh, you didn¡¯t?¡± Having the wearer make jumps was a bit outside of my vision. Or, I guess that would usually be the first thing a person would consider. I had some tunnel vision going. ¡°I¡¯ll leave that idea for next time¡­ This time I made an item that calls forth weapons.¡± ¡°Weapons¡­ Then you mean if I put this on, I can bring out Sentinel whenever I want?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not quite that simple. You have to set a [Teleport] magic circle on whatever you want to summon beforehand, then use a command word to call it to you. That¡¯s the kind of item it is.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± ¡°So let¡¯s give it a whirl. If we can call it to us easily enough, then it will make transporting our equipment much easier, see?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not gonna, like¡­ Explode?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡°Y¡¯see, lately all you¡¯ve had on the mind is sex, so¡­¡± That¡¯s a pretty rude thing to say¡­ Sure, lately we¡¯ve been doing things in the morning to the point of it being really rough, but I haven¡¯t been that stupidly focused on it. Haster has finally calmed down, he¡¯s been doing his sword practice and he¡¯s even studying traps. It looks like he seriously intends on challenging the World Tree. He even ordered the latest book in a series called ¡°Traps,¡± and is in the middle of perusing it. ¡°Now come on, the command word is ¡°Electroplate!¡± Hurry and give it a try.¡± ¡°Ee-lec-trou-playte?¡± I¡¯m borrowing the shout of an old time transforming hero. It also has something to do with an aluminum processing method, so it should be fine as far as copyright goes. ¡°You have to put a little more energy behind the shout.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just kinda embarrassing¡­ ¡°Electroplate!¡±¡± He put a bit more strength into the command word this time, and the armlet deployed its magic circle in response. Along with a mosaic tile-like effect, Alec¡¯s whole right side is encased. After the light faded, Alec¡¯s right side was clad in an armored arm, and the second weapon I developed, ¡°Cleaver¡± was equipped to him. ¡°Yup, I guess it¡¯s a success at least¡ª?¡± ¡°Whoa, come on, it even equipped my armor. Isn¡¯t this pretty amazing?!¡± ¡°Next, I would like you to remove your equipment and place it on this cloth please.¡± I take a cloth out of my pocket with a magic circle etched into it, and spread it on the ground. Emblazoned there is the same kind of magic circle as the [Teleport] trap. Its destination is the magic circle from which the equipment first came. ¡°Here we go¡­¡± ¡°¡ªAnd, ¡°Return¡±.¡± Hmmm, the mosaic tile-like effect just seems to always appear. Is it a result of the teleportation speed decreasing? Maybe because I miniaturized a teleporter and affixed it to something? ¡°It looks like it takes about 2~3 seconds for the transfer to complete. Alec, try summoning it one more time please.¡± ¡°¡®Kay; ¡°Electroplate!¡±¡± Once again Cleaver was summoned as his equipment. It seems like it succeeded without any problems. ¡°Alright, good, we can call it complete. Now I just need to bring your Sentinel over and get it set up. I¡¯ll get a summoning armlet and a returning cloth ready for you.¡± ¡°Seriously?! Hell yeah! Now I can say goodbye to that ridiculously massive look.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying some pretty mean things about the weapon I made for you.¡± ¡°Naw, it¡¯s a great help for combat, but it¡¯s way too huge to carry around.¡± ¡°Hmph, I suppose I can¡¯t deny that.¡± The size of it is part of what makes Sentinel such a great weapon, so that¡¯s the one thing I can¡¯t do anything about. So then, I¡¯ll just leave this Cleaver with Master. Though I feel a little bad for interrupting his sword practice. Well, if I give him a little servicing later, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll improve his mood¡­ Ah, crap. Is this why they¡¯re calling me sex-crazed now? ¡°For the time being, as far as the summoning system is concerned, it¡¯s all set now. The returning method isn¡¯t very stylish, so I¡¯ll need to modify that though.¡± ¡°Who cares about that? Alright, I¡¯ll leave Sentinel here with you¡­ About how long will it take to finish processing it?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ If I hurry, then by tomorrow. I can just switch it out with Cleaver, so I don¡¯t need to put anything new together after all.¡± A right arm armored in dragon scales, and a sword exceeding his own height; his equipment ended up being filled to the brim with 8th grade illness. Well, he is actually 14, so that shouldn¡¯t be a big deal. ¡°Do you have a replacement sword?¡± ¡°I have the one we bought during our trip. It¡¯s not [Enchanted], so it¡¯s a little heavy though.¡± ¡°Well then, please come back tomorrow. I¡¯ll have it ready for you by then. We have Haster¡¯s practice sword, so you can take that with you for the trip home.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Thus, having finished one task, and after chasing Alec away, I proceeded to get ready for my next undertaking. ~*~ Feeling good about the success of my experiment, I transition to the next matter. Descending to the cottage¡¯s basement, I open the door to the storage room. I head towards the wall even further in the back of the room, and recite the command word. The wall makes a sound as it opens, and beyond it is a wide room with a sarcophagus stored within. Inside the sarcophagus is the remains of a demon dragon. After we got back to the cottage, we buried Fafnir from above ground, and then made a passageway connecting it to the basement. It¡¯s so huge that it wouldn¡¯t fit in the cottage, so this was a desperate plan. The outside of the sarcophagus is made of stone walls, and the walls have [Toughness] cast on them, so breaking into it from the outside is probably impossible. I cut out a large chunk of the flesh in front of me, and pull out the thing I came here for¡­ Namely, ¡°Fafnir¡¯s Heart¡±. A normal knife¡¯s blade wouldn¡¯t have been able to handle this, so I used a knife with [Sharpness] cast on it to cut apart the flesh. Right¡­ Haster and I have a rather difficult problem standing in front of us called a ¡°lifespan¡±. However, I had one idea regarding how to solve that. ¡ªThe hero who ate the World Tree¡¯s sprout gained eternal youth and immortality, and became the progenitor of dragons. His dragon species descendants house the ¡°eternal youth and immortality¡± power in their hearts. Fafnir, who is extremely close in his direct lineage, is highly likely to have a large amount of that power remaining in it. To be honest, I thought it was just a fanciful bit of folklore, but in light of Alec and the others¡¯ bodies being strengthened, I can¡¯t necessarily think it¡¯s just some horror story. In fact, the results of looking at it with ¡°Appraisal¡± are as follows¡­ ¡ªFafnir¡¯s Heart. Those who partake of this flesh will be granted infinite life. ¡°That¡¯s quite a rough explanation it¡¯s giving me. I¡¯m not really sure if this is something I should be putting in Haster¡¯s mouth or not¡­¡± A proper interpretation would be ¡°Eternal youth,¡± and ¡°Immortality,¡± except it doesn¡¯t guarantee a single thing besides that. The powers in this world are filled with malice. I¡¯m well aware of what happens if you jump into these things, swallowing whatever story it tells you. ¡°Yuuri, what¡¯s going¡­ Hm? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Haster, are you done reading?¡± He unexpectedly showed his face in the kitchen, and I tried to divert the topic by answering with a question. How might I explain something like this¡­? ¡°Yeah, I took a brief look through it already. Rather than that¡­ What is that huge thing?¡± ¡°This is, ummm¡­ Something that will probably grant you ¡°eternal youth¡± and ¡°immortality¡±.¡± ¡°Wha?!¡± He opens his eyes in astonishment. Of course he would. What he sought to eventually obtain, after breaking through the thousand layer labyrinth in the World Tree, was rolling around right in front of him. ¡°However, I¡¯m not confident in it. In fact, the perfunctory explanation for it only makes me have misgivings.¡± ¡°¡­ Tell me more.¡± ¡°This is Fafnir¡¯s heart. The heart of a demon dragon that is extremely close to the originator who received the power of the World Tree. According to folklore, the power of ¡°eternal youth,¡± and ¡°immortality,¡± dwells within it.¡± ¡°Come to think of it, there was a story like that. Perhaps because it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen the real thing in front of my eyes, I didn¡¯t think to make that connection with the legends.¡± ¡°The problem is, there are no other points of reference for it. A definite possibility is that it could reduce you to a lump of flesh that ¡°is merely alive,¡± if things go poorly.¡± ¡°However¡­ With this, we could both¡­¡± Haster¡¯s eyes are quivering with some kind of obsession. No, I¡¯m probably only seeing it as an obsession because I¡¯m projecting. Yes, it¡¯s what I desire. With him¡­ Forever¡­ Which is why¡ª ¡°Haster, this thing is dangerous. But it¡¯s also what may contain a way to extend your lifespan within it.¡± ¡°¡­ Yuuri,¡± ¡°I¡­ Even though this is dangerous¡­ I think I want you to eat it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even need to tell me. The thing I hoped for is right in front of me, after all.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± He was sure to accept it, and I knew that. And yet I, the one who suggested it, now feel sick to my stomach. I shake my head to cast away my distress. I don¡¯t give a damn about the morals behind it. As long as I have him by my side, that¡¯s all I need. ¡°Do I have to eat this raw?¡± ¡°Most likely¡­ If it¡¯s processed in any way, then it¡¯ll turn into some different kind of ¡°dish¡± I would think.¡± Haster pokes at the springy meat with his finger. Of course, it seems to take courage to eat a heart bigger than a person¡¯s face. ¡°Rather than the risk of putting some unknown substance in my mouth, that¡¯s the part making me resist this the most.¡± ¡°Certainly¡­ I¡¯ll be sure to make a delicious dinner for you, so please pardon me for this.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to that.¡± With the same knife I used to remove it, I cut a large mouthful of the heart¡¯s meat off. The dark red meat of the heart looks like it could still move at any moment. In spite of repeated [Freezing] and [Thawing] after its death, even now it appears to be fresh. In a certain sense it looks delicious¡­ All the more reason I think of it as eerie while I look at it, and unconsciously swallow my saliva. ¡°Alright¡­ Here I go.¡± And thus, he took the forbidden fruit to his lips. --------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 47: Eternal Youth and Immortality Chapter 47: Eternal Youth and Immortality Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Gulp, goes the sound of the meat being swallowed. Staying that way, I watch Haster¡¯s state for a short while. I can¡¯t see any changes in his appearance yet. Thinking about it, in any case, the only way to test if someone has eternal youth and immortality is to try actually killing them and find out, but¡­ There¡¯s no way I could seriously do something like that. Even if there is some kind of change, we¡¯ve never had a way to check. ¡°Fu, fufufu¡­¡± Unknowingly, a giggle leaked from my lips. How stupid is this. ¡°Kukuku¡­¡± He¡¯s laughing too. He probably realized. That we have no way to make sure of it. ¡°Fufu, AHAHAHAHA!¡± ¡°Kufu, fu, HAHAHAHAHA!¡± Together we laugh as if we¡¯ve both gone crazy. Good grief¡­ Did we really get so uncharacteristically worked up just because an item like that was right in front of our eyes? I feel sorry for him, since he had no choice but to eat raw meat. ¡°HAHAhahaha¡­ Gofuuh?!¡± ¡°Haster?!¡± All of a sudden, he vomited a huge amount of blood. Oh no, was it poisonous or something after all?! His body convulses and shakes, bends backwards, and collapses dangerously. Even after he collapsed, his convulsions don¡¯t stop, and the back of his head is hitting the floor hard from those jolts. ¡°NO! Haster, hang in there¡­¡± I embrace his body in a panic and attempt to hold down his convulsions, but it doesn¡¯t have any real effect. I insert my arm under his head, doing the most I can to keep his head from hitting the floor. Even putting my whole body weight into holding him down, with how light I am, I easily get flung away. Using [Telekinesis], I barely manage to hold back his rampage, but since I can¡¯t finely adjust my power, I exhaust more energy than usual. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry¡­ I beg you, don¡¯t die on me¡­¡± This was my mistake¡­ I should have checked to see if it was toxic or not beforehand! I was impatient for results¡­ That¡¯s the only reason I can think of. ¡°Agagaga¡­ Agu¡­ Gafuuh?!¡± Mixed in with his tortured cries, it also sounded like he was going to spew something. When I looked at his face, he was spitting fresh blood from his mouth. Next to it was a dark red piece of meat. ¡°His tongue?! O-open your mouth, please, I¡¯ll immediately [Heal]¡­¡± While maintaining [Telekinesis], I was going to perform a [Healing] on him, but he can¡¯t open his mouth for me. On the contrary, his muscles are contracting, just smashing his teeth together in a constant bite. ¡°Open your mouth! Haster¡­ MASTER!¡± In panic and confusion I called out to him in the way that was most familiar. Even so he couldn¡¯t respond¡­ and while doing so, something similar to white smoke rose from his mouth. At the same time, the bleeding from the crevices between his teeth stops. ¡ªIs this¡­ Immortality¡¯s effect? If so, then there¡¯s at least a ray of hope¡­ And as soon as I thought that, next his nose started bleeding. His eyes, ears, nose; the holes of his body started bleeding. He was incontinent, he defecated, and it didn¡¯t look like it was stopping anytime soon. ¡°What the heck is happening?! He¡¯s gonna die of dehydration at this rate!¡± How miserable such a corpse looks was clearly burned into my retina shortly after being transported here. The corpse of that adventurer who dried up while he was still alive¡­ Does this mean he¡¯s going to end up that way too¡­? ¡°¡ªNo way in hell am I letting that happen!¡± I know more about his body than anyone else in the world. The heat of his body, the beating of his heart, the flow of his blood¡ªI¡¯ve taken it all in during this past month. I cast [Heal] with everything I have, and attempt to replenish his lost hydration. ¡°I absolutely will not let you die¡­ Haster¡­ Please¡­ Oh, God¡­ ¡­¡± I sense my magic power rapidly deplete. As my body¡¯s energy faded, I barely managed to force myself upright¡­ Throughout the night, until I lost consciousness, I continued healing him. ~*~ ¡°Yuuri, are you here¡ª? Uwah, what the hell is this?! Yuuri, are you okay?!¡± ¡°Nnn¡­ Uh?¡± The next morning, that call brought me back to consciousness. It¡¯s morning already, but my body doesn¡¯t feel very refreshed. The full body fatigue characteristic of magic power depletion is showing up. Shaking my dull feeling head, I awaken my body¡ª ¡°¡­ Uwah¡­ Oh no, Haster?!¡± The living room of the cottage was a tremendous disaster. Blood, sweat, urine, along with a bunch of other bodily fluids, and even the semen I got so used to seeing are all there. It¡¯s almost like the crime scene of a murder. Did all of this really come from just one person¡¯s body? Underneath my body is, not the body of my master¡­ but a boy who looks to be about 13 or 14 years old, collapsed. ¡°¡­ Huh?¡± ¡°Yuuri, who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°I-I have no clue.¡± Black hair, and a sharply angled appearance. He doesn¡¯t look dissimilar to¡­ No, actually he looks very similar? ¡°Nonono, but¡­¡± ¡°What, you¡¯ve got some idea?¡± ¡°Alec, you don¡¯t see it¡­?¡± If you¡¯re his apprentice, then you should notice! Maybe. But I¡¯m not confident of it myself. Does eternal youth and immortality generally have an effect of returning to¡­ ¡°You are absolutely correct with your idea; he¡¯s the former sage, Haster.¡± ¡°¡ª?!¡± A voice suddenly comes from behind Alec. The inside of the room is covered in bodily fluids, and even though walking in it makes an unpleasant sloshing sound, neither of us noticed anyone. Not even Alec, who was closest. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Crying out, he turns around while striking with the great sword he was carrying on his back. That attack wouldn¡¯t normally be dodged you know? Was there any point in asking who it was? However, the person there easily stopped Alec¡¯s slashing attack. Taking a step into the path of the great sword swinging down, he lightly grabs the handle to hold it back. ¡°Wh-what?!¡± Alec is doused in astonishment. His power is being strengthened by ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood,¡± so his strength is already raised to six times that of a normal person, and yet this is the result. The sword being held back with one hand isn¡¯t even budging anymore. Just like Alec being one armed, the boy uses only one arm to hold him back. He¡¯s probably doing to it make him realize that his power is simply greater. ¡°My goodness, are surprise attacks some sort of custom for you people?¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t. Alec, put the sword away. He¡¯s not our enemy. It has been a while, Bart.¡± ¡°Long time no see. About a month now? Congratulations on enriching your everyday life.¡± ¡°Those days are now on the verge of collapse though.¡± ¡°Should I really put my sword away, Yuuri?¡± One month ago, I blew this boy to dust, and yet he still lived. Alec, who can purely destroys things with his sword, wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat him. ¡°So then, you said this boy is Haster¡ªIs that true?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. I¡¯ve seen an example of it in the past.¡± ¡°He¡¯s alive¡­ Aahh¡­¡± I breathed a sigh of relief, and tears spilled from my eyes as my tension was relieved. ¡°Yeah, the tears of a deeply moved maiden are nice. They¡¯re much better than tears of fear.¡± ¡°¡ªkh! I don¡¯t care how you feel about that. If you know what¡¯s going on, then please explain!¡± ¡°Sure, but do you really want to leave that alone?¡± ¡°Aah?!¡± Pulling up the still collapsed Haster, I look around in a panic. Uhhh¡­ letting him sleep in the bed when it looks like this would be a problem, so¡­ ¡°Let me help you out a little bit.¡± ¡°Wha¡­!¡± After Bart says just that, a gust blows through, and the sludge in the room was cleaned up in an instant. In that one instant, he used [Purify] on the dirt, changing it into water, he used [Evaporate], then with [Ventilate] he brought a breeze through to carry the moisture outside, cleaning everything. Without even making the magic circles appear, in that one instant he used three different spells¡­ I seriously don¡¯t feel like I can win against him. ~*~ Alec carried Haster to the bed to lay him down, and after I went to tidy up the room, I went to the living room with some tea to listen to what Bart had to say. And Bart? I wasn¡¯t going to let someone like him touch my important person or house, so I had him stand there. In reality, I don¡¯t even want to get tea for this shady guy. ¡°Oh, but there wasn¡¯t much else. Since he ate Fafnir¡¯s heart, he now has eternal youth and immortality. That¡¯s all, really?¡± ¡°¡­ Is that the truth?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know if you try killing him. Well, normally the body wouldn¡¯t be able to endure it, and he would have died while scattering bodily fluids everywhere though.¡± So it was something that dangerous? ¡°Appraisal¡± didn¡¯t mention that crucial detail. Good grief! ¡°Well, a number of factors overlapped, and he safely became part of our little group. I¡¯ll start by giving my congratulations.¡± ¡°What are these ¡®multiple factors¡¯?¡± ¡°Could you at least respond in kind?¡± Bart puffed out his cheeks, seemingly unsatisfied. You¡¯re not fooling anyone with that young looking expression, you know? ¡°Yeah, sure, thank you very much. If you¡¯re so inclined, would you like to have lunch with us?¡± ¡°Wha, can I?!¡± ¡°Hey, no way in hell!¡± Bart made an unexpectedly happy response, which made Alec angry. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Alec. Sure, it¡¯ll be my treat. However, it will only be if you give me a proper explanation.¡± ¡°Hooray! I¡¯m bad at cooking, so it has been a long time since I¡¯ve had a tasty meal. Let¡¯s see¡­ First off, someone who has eaten Fafnir¡¯s heart normally can¡¯t be saved. We¡¯re clear on that?¡± ¡°Yeah, it happened in front of my eyes after all.¡± ¡°But he was saved. The reasons for that are probably¡­ ¡°First, he himself was the perfect ¡°vessel¡± for it as a person. Second, his body was already strengthened by the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡±. Third, he earnestly continued his intercourse with you this past month. Fourth, while he was on the verge of death, you earnestly continued pouring ridiculous amounts of magic power into him. ¡°¡­ That is all. I believe these four things were the factors involved.¡± Having it presented to me in that itemized format, Haster really was outside the norm. By the way¡­ ¡°I understand three of those, but what exactly is the reason behind the third one? Is this some kind of Sexual harassment?¡± ¡°Not quite. Look, there are things called sexual techniques, right? Neither of you probably know the theory behind them, but what you were doing was similar, so some of your magic power and vitality flowed into him.¡± ¡°I-is that what you mean¡­?¡± I have heard of it at least, but knowing that our particular actions were seen by a third party, that is quite embarrassing. My face turns beet red against my will. ¡°That¡¯s how it is. Well, from what I saw, it felt like he just barely made it. But since it was a simple imitation, I¡¯d say it went rather well.¡± ¡°An imitation¡­ Fafnir was, you mean?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not to say that Fafnir was a fake, you know? I mean that it being an ¡°Eternal youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡± medicine is a sham.¡± ¡°Eh, what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°The dragon species holding ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡± in their hearts is originally because the founder of the species has ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡±. And that power is said to come from¡­¡± ¡°¡­ The World Tree.¡± ¡°Right. In other words, true ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡± is something given directly by the World Tree. Though the dragon species basically has that power within them, it cannot be denied that it is only indirectly. Hmmm¡­ I suppose rather than an imitation, it would have been better to call it a low quality item?¡± Since it was low quality, normally a person can¡¯t be saved from it. But Haster, by various happenstances, managed to live on, and won the power. Is that what he means? ¡°Why are you so knowledgeable about this subject? Who exactly are you?¡± ¡°Surely you know, don¡¯t you?¡± Rather than knowing, there¡¯s only one possibility. It¡¯s an answer I don¡¯t really want to think about though¡­ ¡°In recorded history, there is only one irregular person like me who has won immortality. In which case there¡¯s only one answer¡­ You are the dragon king himself, Bahamut, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You are correct!¡± ¡°Oh my god¡­¡± That¡¯s why I can¡¯t kill him. It¡¯s because he¡¯s far and away my elder when it comes to ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡±. Moreover, his ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡± wasn¡¯t a ¡°cheat product granted by another world¡¯s God,¡± but a ¡°legitimate product that exists in this world¡±. If I had to put it another way, I¡¯m an ¡°imported good,¡± he¡¯s ¡°domestically produced,¡± and Haster is a ¡°substitute product,¡± I suppose? ¡°So anyway¡­¡± That unbelievable existence, known as Bahamut, looks this way with a sorry look on his face for some reason. ¡°What is it, elder?¡± ¡°Hey, calling me ¡®elder¡¯ isn¡¯t really¡­ No, forget that. I don¡¯t like carrots, so I was just thinking I¡¯d like it if you didn¡¯t cook anything with them for lunch.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­Let¡¯s just promise to face forward, and consider how to make the best of things.¡± In response to the stupid request from the dragon king, I replied in a way similar to a certain god from somewhere. Chapter 48: A Meal with The Dragon King Chapter 48: A Meal with The Dragon King Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations ¡°So then, why is this guy here with us?¡± ¡°Haster, calling someone ¡°this guy¡± at your first meeting doesn¡¯t leave a good impression.¡± A mildly high-strung, tense and high pitched boyish voice. I wonder where that low voice with the calm feeling to it went. Haster didn¡¯t have any bodily abnormalities when he awoke¡­ I suppose that¡¯s a slightly inaccurate way to put it, but he was rather hungry, so the four of us were having a meal together. As a now young man, he¡¯s appears to be about the same age as Alec, but he¡¯s also shorter than Alec. He¡¯s baby faced, and his voice isn¡¯t deepened. He¡¯s a young boy. ((shota)) Bahamut looks to be about the same age, so when someone gains ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality,¡± they probably return to that age. ¡°She¡¯s riiiight, I¡¯m not your enemy, seeee?¡± ¡°You¡¯re making yourself sound suspicious on purpose, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah, actually. I wanted to try putting on a patronizing air, though.¡± This bastard seems to be the hedonistic type through and through. It doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯ll get along with the more serious type that Haster is. I mixed together the pork that I bought and saved before the trip, along with some bear meat I had in storage to make a rather unique hamburg steak, which I then served on the table. I¡¯ve mentioned this before, but pork aside, beef is a luxury in Mareba. Because it takes more manpower. That being the case, bear, boar, keratos and other vermin are our main sources of protein. ¡°So, why did you show up when you did? Isn¡¯t your timing a little too perfect?¡± ¡°Fuhn? Fhell ahts fefaush¡­¡± ¡°Please, just eat or talk. Pick one.¡± ¡°Chew, chew¡± ¡°¡­ So eating comes first, huh?!¡± Does this bastard get off on teasing people?! ¡°Whoa, whoa, don¡¯t get mad. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve eaten such human food, it was just so dream-like is all.¡± ¡°Prioritize talking, and answer me.¡± ¡°Hmm? Ah, I was just worried about how my nephew was doing.¡± ¡°Nephew? You mean Yig?¡± So that short-tempered dragon was your relative? You poor thing. She must have been running riot with her private life. As I send him a look of pity, he continued talking as if he was making an excuse. ¡°Not to say that we have a direct blood connection, but it¡¯s more the feeling of it. That child¡¯s mother was a bit of a radical so, I figured this would happen eventually. Well, also I figured a country or two would go down with her though.¡± Surprisingly, I guess dragons have extremists among them too¡­? So is he actually more of a moderate? A moderate type, but his personality is pretty twisted. ¡°Well yeah. Even dragons have individuality of course. Actually we have an extreme sense of individualism. We don¡¯t give a damn what other people are doing.¡± ¡°In which case, the ones who get mixed up in their business are none of your concern.¡± ¡°Rather than that¡­ Are you really okay, Master?¡± Alec still hasn¡¯t stopped being cautious around Bahamut. This should go without saying, but please don¡¯t bring a great sword to the table. It¡¯s a huge nuisance. Haster hasn¡¯t let go of the long sword at his side either, so the dining table is a savage place right now. It¡¯s hard to even taste the meal like this, you know? ¡°Probably, I guess.¡± ¡°Probably isn¡¯t good enough!¡± ¡°Calm yourself, Alec. I¡¯m perfectly fine at the moment.¡± ¡°Though you say that, it may be similar to my case, but the pattern is slightly different, and it¡¯s also different from her case. We don¡¯t have any other examples to go off of. One of the ancient dragon species being defeated is exceptional in the first place.¡± ¡°My apologies, for killing it.¡± ¡°And you, causing a sonic boom and firing an arrow at supersonic speed into her open mouth, straight into her brain; you think of some pretty gross things.¡± ¡°I only intended on scattering the breath attack.¡± Those arrows are locked away of course. They don¡¯t leave any meat behind, so they can¡¯t even be used for hunting. Another good point is they would be overkill on human opponents. ¡°Even so, I thought this event would happen more quickly. So the truth is, I¡¯ve been monitoring this cottage from nearby. That¡¯s why I could appear with such good timing.¡± ¡°Why did you think that?¡± Haster turned a sharp eyed glare on Bahamut. It doesn¡¯t have the heaviness it used to, but it looks like the young sharpness of it has increased¡­ That gaze is chilling. When he noticed it, he held his fork in his mouth and blankly stared back. ¡°Well, because of the ¡°Demon Dragon¡¯s Heart,¡± of course? Thoughtless folk like yourself are one thing, but those who carefully consider things like her would be quick to notice it. It would not be strange to eat it greedily right then and there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as if an ancient dragon being defeated is unprecedented. Yet no immortals seem to have appeared from them.¡± ¡°Because those who ate it died on the spot. Among those who have defeated one of our level, there were no heroes who continued to live on, yes? It¡¯s because they who devoured it died right then and there. That means you¡¯re the rarest of the rare.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why so many heroes come to tragic ends¡­¡± ¡°She worried over it for a whole month. You¡¯re quite loved, aren¡¯t you, former sage?¡± ¡°Damn straight.¡± He peeks over and gazes in my direction. I flap my hands in a panic. Why are you acting like that¡¯s totally obvious, and throwing out that embarrassing line?! ¡°Haster, please stop looking at me like that. It¡¯s making me feel kinda weird.¡± ¡°I like what I¡¯m hearing. I¡¯ll keep making you feel even more weird, starting tonight.¡± ¡°What are saying?!¡± With how you look right now, you just sound like a perverted brat! ¡­ Come to think of it, I wonder if that has gotten smaller too? ¡°Yuuri, what are you looking at?¡± ¡°Yep, what inde¡­ Uh, I mean, nothing at all, of course?¡± ¡°I know that¡¯s not true!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, thanks for the treat. Both the lovers talk and the meal.¡± ¡°Did it meet your tastes?¡± ¡°Of course. You¡¯re quite the cook. If the former sage hadn¡¯t married you, I would have been glad to have you.¡± ¡°Leave. Now.¡± His mood is gradually getting worse. Please don¡¯t fan the flames any more. And take your hand off that sword, Haster! Moreover, you wouldn¡¯t even make my list of candidates. You¡¯re way too fishy. ¡°When I consider that you¡¯re Yig¡¯s relative, I don¡¯t mind cooking a meal for you¡­ But could you please not go butting into our lives? We¡¯re newlyweds after all.¡± ¡°Yep, newlyweds quickly scatter ¡°hazardous substances¡± everywhere, which I want no part of, ¡®kay?¡± ¡°The only thing scattered everywhere is carrots. I mixed them into the hamburg steak.¡± ¡°BUHHAH?!¡± Bahamut makes a beeline for the toilet. I wonder¡­ Where did this guy¡¯s dignity as a hero go? Haster¡¯s not gonna turn into a character that always plays dumb like this, is he¡­? Uhh, come to think of it, I feel like I¡¯ve seen bits and pieces of it hiding away in him lately. After a short while, Bahamut comes back with a worn down face plastered on. ¡°Ueeeh¡­ Is this your revenge then?¡± ¡°Anyway! He¡¯s in exactly the condition I wanted him in now, right? He¡¯s still human, and not a dragon or some other¡­¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m human?¡± ¡°¡ªh?! But you¡¯re¡­¡± When I heard him ask if he was human, ¡°NO¡± is the only likely answer I could come to. But doesn¡¯t this progenitor of dragons, right before my eyes, clearly have a human appearance and human thoughts? Calling him human would be no exaggeration. But if he isn¡¯t, then even I¡­ ¡°I am fully dragon. I have experience living as a person, but my values, lifespan, and even how I live are now very different from a person. Even this form is simply a [Transformation] into a person.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Not aware of having used any magic like that.¡± ¡°You were originally supposed to die. However, she continued healing you. Thanks to her, you could remain in a ¡°Human form,¡± while you adapted to your ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡±.¡± ¡°But why did his age regress? Could he not stay as he was?¡± The question I¡¯ve kept holding in. I tried hitting him with it. I¡¯m still confused about his sudden change. About the appearance he¡¯s had since we were married changing. ¡°¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡± fixes a life to the time when it was most actively growing. For males, it¡¯s around 13 to 15. For females it¡¯s a little earlier, around 10 to 13 I suppose.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why he was brought back to this age? ¡­ In that case there¡¯s no mistake that Haster has ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality,¡± right?¡± ¡°I guarantee it. If you doubt it, you could always remove his head and check.¡± ¡°As if I could do that.¡± ¡°All right, we have no more business with you, now leave.¡± ¡°Hey, do you see how your husband is treating me?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t look at me like you¡¯re about to cry. You¡¯ve been purposely agitating him this whole time.¡± You reap what you sow. This is the result of letting your individualism run wild. Maybe he lost his ability to read the mood. Seeing me glare at Bahamut¡¯s his upturned eyes, Haster speaks out in warning. ¡°You seem dangerous, so I¡¯ll put this out there right now. ¡®This girl is mine. I¡¯m not giving her to anyone.¡¯ got it?¡± His body that used to be big enough to wrap around me twice has shrunk, and now he¡¯s only big enough to wrap around me about once. Even so, the pressure his gives off is unchanged. Could this be him wanting to monopolize me? This is a pleasing discovery. Auu, a completely charmed expression is showing on my face just by thinking about it. ¡ªAah, I¡¯ve totally and completely become his, haven¡¯t I¡­ When I wrote my dreams for the future as ¡°spend a lazy, decadent, and dirty daily life with a cute wife,¡± I was called by my homeroom teacher for it. But now look at what¡¯s happened to me¡­ I¡¯ve totally fallen into it. When he sees me melt, and my expression loosen, Alec breathes out a sigh. ¡°Master and Yuuri are totally off in their own little paradise, but¡­ I want to ask you one thing. You don¡¯t intend on becoming our enemy, right? You¡¯re not thinking about getting revenge for Fafnir or anything like that at all?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I mentioned how individualistic we are. I¡¯m not considering that aaaat all. But I don¡¯t want you hurting the little one I suppose? We are basically from the same tribe after all.¡± ¡°Yig is already family to us.¡± ¡°It relieves me to hear that.¡± Taking a moment, the dragon king sips his after meal tea, and lets out a quick breath. ¡°Well then, thank you for the meal. I never expected there to be a human who would actually feed me carrots.¡± ¡°You¡¯re quite welcome. It looks like I was able to pay you back.¡± ¡°Next time I¡¯ll treat you to some dragon cooking.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass. I feel like it would just be some burnt meat or the like.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s certainly not far from the truth.¡± Saying that, he stood from his seat, went through the entrance¡­ And disappeared. ¡ªIt didn¡¯t look like he [Teleported], but he disappeared from our view in an instant. And then, passing by where Bahamut disappeared, another person came rushing in. Chapter 49: Business Trip Request Chapter 49: Business Trip Request Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The one who visited was mister Oreas, who we had not seen for a month. Relying on his connection with us, he seems to have come with a job request, but¡­ First off, since Haster¡¯s appearance has vastly changed, we shall have him hide for now. ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯m here. Yuuri, would you help us out?¡± ¡°That¡¯s how I usually drag people into things, but unless you give me the full story, I can¡¯t say. So please explain it ¡®politely,¡¯ to me, ¡®from the start¡¯.¡± ¡°¡­ Ugh, understood.¡± According to mister Oreas, after we parted ways, the ¡®Forest Bear¡¯ party headed to the port town of Cornus, and spent some time there. And then, as if timed perfectly with that, an issue bubbled up¡­ The appearance of the Phantom Thief, ¡°Livyatan¡±. Hey, don¡¯t droop your head down like that. They really exist in this world! ¡°So we, being called ¡®Wyvern Killing¡¯ heroes, received a request to capture the thief.¡± ¡°Well that is nice; you¡¯re getting more work.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not really that great though? Even if our physical abilities increased, we¡¯re still middle rank. We can¡¯t use our abilities for these kinds of jobs where the opponent sneaks around.¡± ¡°I guess there wouldn¡¯t be much of a way to power through it.¡± Their opponent isn¡¯t going to come out and fight face to face for them in any case. They wouldn¡¯t be able to make much use of their strength to handle it. Their lack of experience probably makes this request a heavy load for them. ¡°Why did you take on such a complicated request in the first place? I¡¯m sure there were more straightforward extermination requests or the like.¡± ¡°Kale uh¡­ He drinks too much. We ended up having to take a request quickly. Thanks to that, we didn¡¯t have time to wait for something we preferred.¡± ¡°You guys have way too many characteristic problems.¡± ¡°I¡¯m well aware. That¡¯s exactly why I¡¯ve come, in shame, to ask the [Sage of Wind] for help.¡± If you¡¯re aware of it, then the first thing I want to say is ¡®don¡¯t just accept it¡¯. Good grief. ¡°Cornus is pretty far if I remember right, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s further west than Comb City; it should take about a week.¡± Alec explained to me. Come to think of it, Cornus is where Alec went to become a knight. Wouldn¡¯t he be more qualified with his knowledge of the area? ¡°Alec has some experience living in Cornus, you know? I think he would be able to help you more than I could.¡± ¡°I was planning on making this request to Mister Haster. Not much I can do about him being absent.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m so sorry for being sheltered.¡± ¡°But boy, the fish was so delicious. Feels like something you¡¯d expect from a port town.¡± Upon hearing ¡®fish¡¯, my ears perk up in response. I can¡¯t help it, can I? I grew up in Japan, surrounded by ocean, and lived a life of eating fish every day. Living in the mountains, far from the ocean, eating meat and vegetables every day like this, it makes sense that I would start missing rice and fish. ¡°Now that I think of it, we haven¡¯t gone on a honeymoon yet.¡± ¡°¡­ Huh?¡± ¡°No, just talking to myself. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°So, when will mister Haster be returning?¡± ¡°Aahh¡ª, well uhh¡ª¡° ¡°He died!¡± Abruptly cutting in was a voice I had been hearing a short while ago. ¡°Where did you come popping out from?! And seriously, please don¡¯t make comments that could be taken as bad omens! Why did you come back in the first place?!¡± ¡°Well, I actually realized that I failed to pass something essential on to you.¡± In the doorway, standing exactly where he disappeared from before, was Bahamut. Yeah, he just said one thing, and I already had to lay one retort on after another. ¡°¡­ And he is?¡± ¡°He¡¯s Baha¡­ Bart, is his name. I suppose he¡¯s something like my senior?¡± ¡°I had no idea there were other apprentices of mister Haster¡­ I apologize for addressing you rudely. I am called Oreas. I am one who aspires to walk the path of the magician.¡± ¡°My, quite the polite one. Way different from you folk.¡± ¡°Shut it. ¡®course I¡¯d attack you with the way you just appear like that.¡± Though he regarded Bahamut suspiciously, mister Oreas immediately changed his attitude when he heard the world ¡®apprentice.¡¯ Isn¡¯t his attitude a little different from how he treats me though? Also, it seems Alec is indeed still on high alert. Not knowing at what moment he appeared is probably making him mentally squirm as a warrior. ¡°Why are you being so polite with him, and not with me?¡± ¡°How to put this¡­ you¡¯re oddly easy to talk to. It feels wrong to treat you like you¡¯re above me.¡± Aah¡ª, it might just be that a subtle hint of fascination is leaking out. The ¡®Sealing Magic Mirror¡¯ is something Haster made in a rush in the early days, after all. It comes off easily in the shape of glasses; it might be best to think of a different form for it. ¡°So? What is it you forgot to pass to me, Bart?¡± ¡°Right, right, actually it¡¯s this thing¡­¡± Saying that, the dragon king Bahamut sticks his hand into his pants and digs around between his legs¡­ What am I even watching? When he removed his hand from inside his clothes, he was gripping something like an old parchment. ¡°Where were you keeping that?!¡± ¡°Hm, weelll¡­ I figured if I put it in there, the he-sage would surely get angry.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t think of storage places based on how to make people angry.¡± ¡°Excitement and amusement are the spices of life, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve only just met, but I can already tell. Making jokes is probably all you do in life.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Don¡¯t affirm it! And what kind of life is that?! You¡¯re not a human, right? On top of that, even Alec quipped at you to cap it off. This is no good. Dealing with this guy is just gonna make you go mad, and in a different way than Haster. Let¡¯s hurry and finish this business of his, and then get him to leave. I snatch the parchment out of his hands, and check what¡¯s inside¡­ Its contents was one magic circle. It¡¯s complex, intricate¡­ And I can¡¯t understand its substance at a glance. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ What¡­ Is¡ªNo.¡± I was going to ask ¡®what is it?¡¯, but I have my pride in being called the acting ¡®Sage¡¯. Without asking, let¡¯s try using ¡°Appraisal¡± to see through it. Huh? Foul play? Nonono, it¡¯s one of those things we call ¡®cheats¡¯. Could you please say it¡¯s ¡®effective use of my abilities¡¯? Mister Oreas doesn¡¯t seem to know what it is either, so it must not be a commonly known magic, but¡­ Actually, this spell is way too advanced, isn¡¯t it? It meddles with a substance, causes a change¡­ and keeps it that way? Moreover the range is limited to contact. No, actually it¡¯s limited to the caster? ¡°Its contents are¡­ [Mutation]¡ªNo, [Transformation]?¡± ¡°Oh, very well deduced. It¡¯s a spell that shouldn¡¯t be spread among people though.¡± ¡°But this¡­ It¡¯s not finished, is it? Whoever uses this will die.¡± The spell in this magic circle doesn¡¯t have a shred of protection for the caster inscribed in it. In other words, if used to transform the body, the damage caused by that shock will put the caster¡¯s life in danger. ¡°Yep, I suppose so. But don¡¯t you think some people could get through it just fine?¡± ¡°No way! If someone¡¯s fine after using a spell like this, they could basically be called immortal, right?¡± ¡°¡ªI see. That¡¯s what this is.¡± If it¡¯s magic that kills its user, then it just has to be used by someone who doesn¡¯t die. If it¡¯s Haster or myself, we could use it without any problems. ¡°It would seem there is a way to use it. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Weeelll, you did treat me to a delicious meal, so we can call it even now. The carrots are a separate matter.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to hold that against me, huh. If you¡¯re too picky, then you won¡¯t live very long, you know?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to live longer than I already do?!¡± I won¡¯t lose out when it comes to playing the fool. I have seen M-1 and the like. ¡°Anyway, it looks like I¡¯ll be able to find a way to use this. As thanks, I¡¯ll make something for you without carrots next time.¡± ¡°Hooray! Then I¡¯ll be back tonight.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little fast?!¡± No good. I really can¡¯t follow the rapid fire barrage from a natural idiot. I need to drive mister Oreas and everyone else out of here for now. I mean, I just got my hands on an interesting spell! ¡°Anyway, Haster¡¯s current engagement will keep him away for a few days, so I¡¯m sorry, but could you come back another day mister Oreas?¡± ¡°Yes, I suppose. Oh, I didn¡¯t mean to ask for the impossible. I shall come visiting here some other time.¡± ¡°Now you, appetite devil; we don¡¯t have any more food here, so please, go away. I want to study ¡®this,¡¯ and you¡¯re wasting my time.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a little too honest?!¡± When talking with this guy, I don¡¯t feel even the slightest need to gloss things over. In a sense, he could be called a prodigy at pulling out a person¡¯s true nature I suppose? If he¡¯s doing it on purpose, then that¡¯s amazing. ¡°Weeell fine. In that case I¡¯ll leave now. See you next time. Well then, tonight.¡± ¡°You were serious about that?!¡± ¡°Nope, joking.¡± ¡°Get out of here.¡± I really can¡¯t read him. Not his intentions, his expressions, nor his mood. ¡°The door is that¡ªand he¡¯s gone already.¡± ¡°He vanished¡­?!¡± Like usual, I can¡¯t tell exactly when he disappears. It seems like he¡¯s blocking our recognition of it or something. Alec and mister Oreas, who saw this for the first time, both dropped their jaws in shock. Their gaping open mouths looked a little too stupid, so I closed them with the egg lade I used for cooking. Alec aside, I still can¡¯t touch mister Oreas directly after all. ¡°Who in the world¡­ is he?¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s just like that. He has amazing ability, but mentally he¡¯s a bit off-kilter I guess.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­ A really dangerous person then?¡± ¡°I¡ªguess so.¡± ¡°Since he¡¯ll definitely see through what you¡¯re doing at some point¡­¡± Alec, are you looking at him from the perspective of a rival? He is basically a hero, so you¡¯re setting a pretty high bar for yourself. He doesn¡¯t look like it at all, but he¡¯s the first hero of this world, who challenged a thousand floor labyrinth with one hundred braves, and was the only survivor. Moreover he has knowledge of magic that I, of course, don¡¯t know, but that even Haster doesn¡¯t know too. What does the world look like to him, after living for thousands of years I wonder? Of course something like that would bother me. Both I, and Haster¡­ We¡¯ll be walking the same path as him from now on. ¡°I¡¯m feeling this anxious from the get-go¡­? Is this what they call the ¡®marriage blues¡¯?¡± ¡°Yuuri, it¡¯s definitely not.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, I heard you were married, but¡­ Uhhh¡­ I mean¡­ You¡¯re really an adult?¡± ¡°How rude! I became a true adult just a while back!¡± I certainly still look like a little girl though! I¡¯ve already cut off all hope of growing though! But I¡¯ve been walking together with him for a proper five years. We¡¯ve done a heap of things together. That¡¯s why I¡¯m sure, with my appearance not mattering, he chose me. ¡°So what mister Haster took in wasn¡¯t an ¡®apprentice,¡¯ but a ¡®wife,¡¯ then?¡± ¡°Wife¡­¡± Blood rushes to my head from that one word. I¡¯m still not used to it. ¡°Ahem, anyway, I¡¯ll need to plan on staying in Mareba for a while.¡± ¡°Mareba doesn¡¯t have any lodging facilities though. Maybe you could stay at mister Halt¡¯s house? Or if you need to, you could come by my place?¡± ¡°Your home is still just that little shack though, right Alec? You have some decent income, so you would really be better off getting a decent house.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no trouble for my lifestyle, so it¡¯s fine as is. And Marle comes over sometimes to clean the place, so it¡¯s tidy too.¡± ¡°So you have secured a love shack, huh¡­ Make sure you wait until she grows up, okay?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t gonna do nothin¡¯ like that?! I¡¯m not like Master.¡± The moment that carelessly slipped from Alec¡¯s mouth, a dreadful bloodthirsty feeling could be felt coming from the floor¡­ Aah, Haster¡¯s angry, isn¡¯t he? ¡°Ahwawawa¡­ No uhh, I didn¡¯t really mean¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to panic about it; it¡¯s not like he¡¯s going to actually harm you. He will hurt you enough to make you feel like dying though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I don¡¯t want!¡± ¡°Uhh, anyway, I¡¯ve had a long trip. I¡¯d like to rest at a nice place, so I¡¯ll pass on your offer.¡± It would seem that, being a Magician, mister Oreas didn¡¯t notice the bloodthirstiness coming from the basement. And so, having driven Alec and mister Oreas away, I immersed myself in studying magic together with Haster. Chapter 50: Inspecting the Transformation Magic Chapter 50: Inspecting the Transformation Magic Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: This former sage, no mercy! Translator¡¯s Note: Sigh, author¡­ --------------------------------------------------------------- After driving away our visitors, Haster and I began inspecting the magic circle. It¡¯s kinda been a while since we¡¯ve done this¡­ The mood is similar to back when I was an apprentice. Though the other half of our pair turned into a shorty. ¡°This magic circle¡¯s lack of protection for the body is going to be a problem after all. The whole purpose is to [transform] it, which is probably why no protection was added. And it looks like the effect length is around 1 day.¡± Young boy Haster is in serious mode as he investigates the magic circle. So he had this kind of face when he was young¡­ I guess it¡¯s cool in its own way? ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Yuuri? You should be looking at the magic circle, not me.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not used to seeing you look this way, so I just¡­¡± ¡°Well, my lowered height and such certainly feel a little off. But it balances well with your stature, which makes it just right.¡± Saying so, he reaches his hand out to embrace me around my shoulders¡ª ¡°¡ªHyah?!¡± I ended up rejecting that hand. Uh¡­ What¡¯s going on? ¡°¡­ H-huh?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Yuuri?¡± Eh? Could that reflex have happened as a rejection of him? His appearance may be different, but this is Haster¡­ Huh? ¡°Haster, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m fine, so¡­¡± I can¡¯t let this happen. Timidly, gently I bring my head to his body. Upon doing so, the moment I felt his body temperature, my body began clattering and trembling. My head starts pounding, my stomach hurts as it twists in knots; it feels like I¡¯m going to puke¡­ ¡°Enough, that¡¯s enough, get away.¡± ¡ªI was pushed away by Haster. He looks like he¡¯s about to cry as he gazes at me, whose expression is pale and body tensed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll definitely be able to accept you, so¡­ I¡¯ll be fine, so¡­¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t need to force yourself. My body ended up like this. It¡¯s not strange for you to so strongly reject it.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the husband¡¯s role to ask the impossible of the wife. Besides, the solution is right here, isn¡¯t it? So you don¡¯t need to worry about it.¡± He points to the parchment on the desk, and tells me that to wrap it up. It¡¯s an important subject, and yet he¡¯s saying that so carelessly. Could it be that Bahamut predicted this situation and gave us this magic? But¡­ ¡°If you use this magic¡­ You¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°I turned ¡°Immortal¡±, didn¡¯t I?¡± Now that he mentions it, I haven¡¯t ¡°Appraised¡± him yet. If I took a look with this, we would have known the results right away, but¡­ Anyway, let¡¯s take a peek. ¡ª¡°Wind Attribute Magic¡±, ¡°Magic Tool Creation¡±, ¡°Eternal Youth¡±, ¡°Immortality¡± And surprise, he now has 4 gifts. He has become a fellow cheater. It felt like he was a cheater already though. ¡°You certainly do have ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡±. But that doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t feel pain. You¡¯re different from me. It¡¯s possible that you could go crazy from the pain¡­¡± The reason I can take enough agony to die from it and still be fine is because I have ¡°Adaptability¡±. If that wasn¡¯t here, I probably would have gone mad long ago. Going insane and yet being unable to die¡ªeven if he has ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡±, the possibility that he could fall into that situation still exists. ¡°Now that you mention it, there¡¯s no ¡°pain tolerance¡± section in this. Could we modify the magic circle?¡± ¡°It¡¯s absurdly complex. Modifying it would probably be a bit difficult¡­ But I might be able to manage adding to it¡­¡± ¡°Add to it you say, but with how dense this is, there¡¯s no space to inscribe anything in.¡± It would probably be impossible to push back my physiological rejection of him overnight. In which case, for us to touch each other, we just need to get him back to his ¡®previous appearance¡¯. But this magic circle is something that forcibly transforms the body. Normally it would literally cause enough agony to kill, but he¡¯s ¡°immortal¡±. The problem is if he¡¯ll be able to bear enough pain to make him go crazy, so if I add the ¡®Analgesia¡¯ spell to it, he should be able to manage it. ¡°What about deploying two magic circles, and joining them together?¡± ¡°The only one adept enough to do something like that is you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s that difficult¡­ Hmmm¡­¡± He can only deploy one magic circle. Or perhaps I should say I¡¯m the abnormal one for being able to deploy two of them. Anyway, building [Analgesia] into it is a requirement. The problem is that [Transformation] doesn¡¯t have any space for that in it. He can¡¯t activate it by himself¡­ Actually, he¡¯s not really going to be activating it alone? [Analgesia] is a spell that was originally developed as a surgical anesthetic, and it can be cast on others, so¡­ In that case, I can just cast it, can¡¯t I?! ¡°Haster, wouldn¡¯t it be fine if I cast [Analgesia]?¡± ¡°Ooh!¡± Both he and I have a tendency to go out of our way to do things alone. ¡­ Because our loner periods were long. ¡°In that case, first we¡¯ll experiment. It¡¯s scary doing it so suddenly, so how about I try just [Transforming] my finger?¡± He makes a subtly cowardly proposal. No, it¡¯s good to be careful you know? And the result: we successfully changed it to a ¡®nail-less finger¡¯ without causing pain. The problem is¡­ ¡°Haster, do you know your own appearance?¡± ¡°I look at myself in the mirror plenty. When arranging my hair and beard. Oh hey, let¡¯s try growing a beard.¡± ¡°Please forget the beard. It¡¯s prickly and it hurts.¡± ¡°Do you not like beards?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like pain.¡± ¡°Not being able to kiss would be a problem¡­ I¡¯ll be careful from now on.¡± Please stop getting so depressed over a beard. You had plenty of dignity without one you know? Not a shred of it remains right now though. ¡°Being ¡°Immortal¡± and able to use [Transformation] without pain, I can see all sorts of dreams spreading out before me. I could even morph into a dragon or something, right?¡± ¡°Theoretically, you probably could. Seeing as Bahamut [Transforms] himself into a person, you can probably ignore volume limitations too.¡± ¡°Come to think of it, can¡¯t you transform too, Yuuri?¡± ¡°¡°Golden Ratio¡± would probably change me right back. Even if I [Transform], it would last maybe a few seconds I suppose?¡± ¡°No huge breasts then, huh¡­¡± ¡°So you prefer them large¡­?¡± Please, don¡¯t mutter that seriously while looking so disappointed. My flat chest is a cause of annoyance for me too. When I turned into a girl I wanted to try saying ¡®boobs are so soft¡ª!¡¯ too. I suppose it could be called a dream of mine. ¡°No, right now ¡®Yuuri¡¯s¡¯ are what I like.¡± ¡°Kgh, you always pull out the surprise attacks¡­¡± In response to his surprise attack, my head boiled in an instant. It¡¯s not fair. ¡°Well, no big deal, right? Right then, I¡¯ll be back to my original state in a moment, okay? The [Analgesia] casting please.¡± ¡°Understood. Please be careful, okay?¡± ¡°Once the spell starts taking effect, being careful won¡¯t amount to shit though.¡± While listening to his helpless complaint, I activated [Analgesia]. And then, his [Transformation] activated too¡ª ~*~ Successfully returning his body back to how it was, we were in Haster¡¯s room that night. ¡°Haster, is your body really feeling all right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right, no problems. In fact, with my body being young inside, I¡¯m feeling even better than usual. And also well, there are other things¡­ You better be ready for tonight.¡± ¡°Restrain yourself, please.¡± Well, even if he¡¯s talking like a total sadist, he fundamentally won¡¯t do something I truly don¡¯t like, I¡¯m sure¡­ As usual, I do calisthenics on the bed, loosening my body up before sleeping. ¡°But why are you doing calisthenics?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who told me to. Two years ago! ¡®Your body is stiff, so do some calisthenics,¡¯ you said.¡± ¡°You¡¯re keeping quite faithful to that then. Back when I was in training, I basically just slacked off though.¡± ¡°Besides, if I don¡¯t loosen myself up, things get rough. In a lot of ways.¡± ¡°Aah, right. Your body is pretty small.¡± Bend forward, twist, bend the upper body back¡­ Ah, HEY! Don¡¯t come and touch my chest! ¡°What do you think you¡¯re rubbing?!¡± ¡°Ah, well, I was just thinking you¡¯re always flat, but when you bent backwards, your ribcage really stuck out.¡± ¡°Yeah, my chest muscles are thin too¡­ You really do like them bigger?¡± ¡°A man does not go back on his word. ¡®Yuuri¡¯s breasts¡¯ are what I prefer.¡± I¡¯m not sure if I should feel happy or disappointed, but that manly remark was really unnecessary, you know?! While I continue my calisthenics with a slightly sullen look, he gazes at me with an impish smile. I wonder what¡¯s so funny? ¡°But you know¡­ Doing calisthenics in the nude is surprisingly erotic, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Shut yer trap. If I didn¡¯t take everything off, then you would just muddy it all up, wouldn¡¯t you?! My pajamas have already been annihilated.¡± ¡°Just consider it part of your daily education.¡± ¡°Education like that can go die.¡± Once he¡¯s in ¡®running wild¡¯ mode, restraint means nothing to him. Getting sloppy, stained, and torn, my usual pajamas have all been disposed of. ¡°Okay, how about we get this started.¡± ¡°Get what started?!¡± Maybe he got excited when I bent forward with my legs spread? Slowly he takes off his clothes¡­ Takes off¡­ Uh, whaaa?! ¡°H-Haster¡­ Umm¡­ What exactly¡­ Is that?¡± ¡°Yeah, since we put so much work in to being able to [Transform], I tried rearranging things a bit.¡± ¡°Why are there two of¡­ Moreover, they seem about twice as large as usual!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a man¡¯s ideal.¡± Being a former man, I understand, but that¡¯s only as the one putting it in! It¡¯s not based on the idea that I would be the one it¡¯s put into! Why would you work so hard towards applying it in such a weird way?! As might be expected, this makes even me draw away. Uh, NO, stay back, get away?! ¡°U-uhh¡­ that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Your frightened expression is fascinating too you know?¡± Low and cool, Haster¡¯s usual attractive voice. The voice that always brought me calm is now dropping me to the pits of despair. Today there¡¯s ¡®something¡¯ like a carnivorous beast hunting its prey lurking in¡­ No, it most certainly feels like he¡¯s going to devour me now! ¡°Haster, that is something even I don¡¯t want. Stop this, please!¡± ¡°Come now, we have to confirm its functionality to see what it¡¯s capable of. It¡¯s an experiment, a magic experiment.¡± ¡°That reason isn¡¯t going to pass you know?!¡± I retract my previous statement. He is perfectly fine with doing things I don¡¯t like. Particularly sexual things. ¡°Sorry, let me off on this¡­ This really isn¡¯t going to work¡­ In fact the size makes it impossible!¡± ¡°Relax, ¡°Adaptability¡± will get you used to it in no time.¡± Haa, Haa, he raggedly breathes as he closes in¡­ He gives off the impression that he¡¯s gone a little crazy¡ª ¡°AH¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!?¡± --------------------------------------------------------------- Yuuri: ¡°Maybe we should consider this getting sent to Nocturne about now?¡± Haster: ¡°W-we¡¯re still in the clear, I¡¯m sure.¡± ((T.L: Nocturne refers to Syosetu¡®s sister site for R-18 content.(Thank you xTachibana, and Yukkuri for the info))) Chapter 51: Before Departure Chapter 51: Before Departure Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The next day, Haster and I headed towards Mareba to inform mister Oreas we would take up his request. To see how convenient [Transform] is, Haster turned into a horse, and I¡¯m riding him. I¡¯m riding him without any trouble, which means his young boy form is no good, but I¡¯m totally fine if he¡¯s a horse¡­? ¡°Yuuri, it could be dangerous if you don¡¯t ride properly you know?¡± ¡°¡­ Whose fault is that? My butt really hurts. As does everything from my naval down.¡± ¡°One of those things that comes back to haunt you I suppose.¡± ¡°Bahamut left a terrible spell with me¡­¡± ¡°Even I wouldn¡¯t say something like ¡®let¡¯s do it while I¡¯m a horse,¡¯ so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Why did that idea even come to mind? That actually makes me more worried. I would definitely die from that.¡± Perhaps thanks to him becoming a horse with a splendid physique, we descended the mountain that usually takes 3 hours to get down from in less than 2 hours. Once near the village, [Transform] was cast again to return him to human form. Of course I checked to make sure there weren¡¯t two of those attached. ¡°Isn¡¯t it bigger than usual?¡± ¡°It was something like this, right?¡± ¡°The difference between imagination and reality, I suppose.¡± Yeah, I wasn¡¯t being shy about it from the start, but in the places where our thoughts directly connected, I ended up corrupted¡­ After walking a short way, the village¡¯s entrance came into view. As usual, mister Kime was standing as the gatekeeper. That guy should be a mainstay of the garrison, but does he just have a bunch of free time? ¡°Good morning, mister Kime.¡± ¡°Morning, missus Albine.¡± ¡°Muu¡­ Referring to me that way still makes me kinda embarrassed.¡± ¡°HAHA, you¡¯ll get used to it eventually. Oh, good morning to you too, Haster.¡± ¡°Yeah, morning. I see I¡¯m being treated as an appendix here.¡± ¡°Ladies first, as they say.¡± Since Haster took me as his wife, improper misconceptions about his sexual disposition have arisen, and it feels like his distance from the villagers has shrunk as a result. In exchange, it feels like women with daughters have taken more distance from him though. Perhaps it¡¯s because seeing some of a person¡¯s faults makes it easier to be friendly with them? Before he was a perfect superhuman after all¡­ Thinking that far, I recalled his misconduct from last night. ¡°¡­ That¡¯s probably what it is.¡± ¡°Not sure what you mean, but when you make that face, you¡¯re usually thinking something rude.¡± ¡°Bring your hand to your chest and think a bit, please. I¡¯m sure something will come to mind.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± He places his hand flat against my chest. ¡°Who said anything about my chest¡­?¡± ¡°I figured it would feel better than my own chest.¡± ¡°Mister Haster, I¡¯m going to have to ask you not to grope little girls at the village entrance.¡± ¡°Ah, sorry.¡± A vein bulges on my head, while he nonchalantly replies, and mister Kime looks like he¡¯s about to vomit sand while retorting Haster¡¯s behavior. I take back what I said. Their suspicions of him are not misconceptions; he knows exactly what crimes he¡¯s committing. ¡°Out shopping today? I¡¯d thought you went shopping just the other day while the banquet was still going on though?¡± ¡°No, we have business with Oreas. I heard he¡¯s staying with mister Halt.¡± ¡°Oh, that magician guy! Come to think of it, he has a similar atmosphere as you used to have.¡± ¡°Why did you add ¡°used to¡± in there?¡± Haster glares at mister Kime reproachfully. But being seen that way is natural for someone who grabs a woman¡¯s chest in front of other people. ¡°I mean, y¡¯know¡­ Ahahaha.¡± ¡°Well whatever. That¡¯s why we¡¯re here, so may we go in?¡± ¡°There are no gates that would turn Haster away in this village. Go right ahead.¡± ¡°My thanks.¡± Entering the village and heading down the way towards mister Halt¡¯s house, I try asking him a bit about yesterday¡¯s conversation. He was hiding in the basement yesterday, so there are probably parts he didn¡¯t hear, which is why I¡¯m checking. ¡°You more-or-less understand what he said?¡± ¡°Yeah, the main point would be a phantom thief needs eliminating. They¡¯ve been rather unusual these days.¡± ¡°So people who call themselves phantom thieves appear somewhat regularly?¡± ¡°Quite a few, as far as ones who call themselves such go. They¡¯re not the ones citizens tend to be afraid of, but it¡¯s kind of like a title showing their status¡­?¡± It¡¯s not very high praise, but I suppose they¡¯re amazing thieves with some type of charisma to them? However, they seem to be something that spring up with a fair level of frequency. ¡°Have you ever caught them before Haster?¡± ¡°A few. Well, those ones didn¡¯t live up to expectations. Besides, most of my achievements were in magic beast exterminations, so there aren¡¯t all that many I¡¯ve met.¡± ¡°In other words, you¡¯re saying you haven¡¯t had much experience dealing with them either. Hmmm, will this go all right?¡± I feel reluctant about sending him out on a job against a hooligan when he doesn¡¯t have much experience with it. ¡°Moreover, I¡¯d like to try out how strong my body is now. How much have my abilities have changed, and how much influence does [Transformation] have?¡± ¡°So your basic physical abilities, and what kind of influence [Transformation]¡¯s changes to your body have on that?¡± ¡°If I fail at magic beast extermination, then lives are on the line, but against a thief, there probably won¡¯t be any battles to the death. Even if I fail, all I lose is my reputation.¡± He spoke lightheartedly to me and I suppressed my slight anxiety while we arrived at mister Halt¡¯s house. For me, I have problems with that, so my feelings of not wanting to take this on were gradually getting stronger, but¡­ Even so, we can¡¯t turn back after coming this far. Upon knocking on the door, I could hear Marle¡¯s voice coming from inside. ¡°¡­ Whoops, I¡¯m not gonna take a direct hit from the door opening or something clich¨¦ like that you know?¡± Lately I¡¯ve grown accustomed to my tendency towards being joke material. I take a step back to guard against that kind of gag unfolding. Just as expected, the door flew open and¡­ Whoa, if I was standing in front of the door just then, I think being knocked out would have been the least of my worries? And from inside, Marle¡ª ¡°Ah, STOP!¡± ¡°¡­ Eh?¡± With frightening speed, something flew out from inside¡­ And along with a loud thud, rammed straight into my stomach. ¡°Aww sheesh, Yig! I know you¡¯re happy, but you hit her way too hard!¡± ¡°HUUEEEeeehh¡­¡± It¡¯s been a long time since I last barfed. ~*~ ¡°Do you have some sort of grudge against me Yig¡­?¡± ¡°Shagya¡ª¡± ¡°Certainly, it was wrong to leave you alone for three days in Solkalis, but Haster was the perpetrator of that. I had nothing to do with it.¡± ¡°Agya¡ª¡± ¡°Driving you out of the cottage as soon as we got back was his fault too. I had¡ª¡± ¡°Stop piling the blame on me for what happens to Yig. I was wrong, I know.¡± Having been led into the living room, I was earnestly lecturing Yig, but Haster seemed to be taking damage for some reason. Feeling somewhat refreshed, I pet Yig¡¯s head, and when we were waiting for mister Oreas, Yig slowly left through the window. ¡°¡­ What is he up to?¡± ¡°Ah! Don¡¯t you dare, Yig!¡± ¡°Oh my?¡± Marle rushes towards the entryway in a panic. After a moment, a scream could be heard along with a sound radiating violence. ¡°¡ªUoh! You again, shrimp! I was called here today you know?! And heck, I could die from that breath! Are you trying to kill me?!¡± ¡°Gya¡ª!¡± ¡°Yig, bad kids do not get dinner!¡± I see, Alec came over, so Yig went to stake out the territory. I¡¯m glad he¡¯s so faithfully following what I told him to do. Well, this is something like parental affection. I feel sorry for Alec, but having obstacles can turn into a spice I¡¯ve heard. ¡°Should we¡­ Leave them like that?¡± ¡°Oh, mister Oreas. It¡¯s been a day.¡± ¡°There seemed to be a racket near the entrance last night too, but is it like this every hour here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably generally like that. Yig¡¯s all fired up too; it would be boorish to throw cold water on his hardworking attitude.¡± ¡°Alec¡­ You have my pity¡­¡± Why are you looking into the distance, Haster? ¡°Damn lizard, I¡¯ll turn you into dried meat this time! ELECTROPLATE!¡± ¡°FUGYA¡ª!¡± FWOOM, BLAM, BWOOM, went the sound effects that felt discordant with the quiet village. ¡ªMaybe it¡¯s about time we should stop them? Upon thinking that while sipping tea¡ª ¡°Even though I keep telling you to stop, you¡­ I HATE YOU BOTH!¡± Right along with Marle¡¯s angry voice, the noise came to a sudden halt. The obedience training seems to be going well. For Yig, and Alec both. ~*~ Taking a pause, we greeted Alec and Marle who came to the living room, and it became tea time. Even now Yig is squeezed between the two sitting on the sofa, showing how accustomed he is to his work as a guardian. ¡°Mister Haster, it has been a while.¡± ¡°It¡¯s great to see you in good health too.¡± ¡°First, I congratulate you on your marriage. Unfortunately I did not prepare a congratulatory gift for you though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nothing to worry about. My partner is Yuuri anyway. Our lifestyle hasn¡¯t changed much from how it always has been.¡± ¡°What exactly to you think you¡¯re saying about my momentous decision?!¡± I pound my fists against Haster who spouted pretty terrible things from his lips. He didn¡¯t take any damage with my arm strength, as was already assumed. Marle looks our way enviously. Alec looks like he just swallowed a bunch of sugar whole. ¡°Did you happen to hear what we are asking of you?¡± ¡°Yuuri informed me. No problems there.¡± ¡°In that case, you coming here means¡ª¡° ¡°Yeah, I think we¡¯ll take your request.¡± ¡°My thanks! I figured this is a little outside the scope of our muscle-brains.¡± ¡°Now I can relax,¡± is what mister Oreas¡¯ relieved expression showed. Jack and Kale probably aren¡¯t suited for anything outside strength jobs. ¡°Come to think of it, what about miss Bella and mister Bhav? Those two should be able to respond well to this type of case, right?¡± ¡°Lady Yuuri¡­ For example, half a month ago, were you be able to handle your usual jobs¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah, being newlywed¡­ It corrupts people after all.¡± Why are you responding, Haster? Ah well, certainly your depravity from half a month ago is a topic that could last a lifetime. ¡°Half a month ago, huh¡­ Certainly¡­ It felt like decent human functioning had ceased. For me, and him.¡± ¡°Which means those two¡­?¡± ¡°Well yeah. I wouldn¡¯t say they¡¯re getting along as well as you two, though.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s fantastic. We¡¯ll have to give our congratulations to them.¡± ¡°Is it really something to celebrate though¡­ I wonder¡­?¡± Cold sweat drips from mister Oreas. Is there a problem? ¡°How do I put this¡­ If I say the word ¡°training¡± comes to mind from them, would you get it?¡± ¡°Ah¡ª¡­¡± Miss Bella must have commenced her ideal boyfriend development plan. Rest in peace, mister Bhav. ¡°Hey Master, if you¡¯re headed to Cornus, then I can¡­¡± ¡°Unfortunately Alec, you¡¯ll have to stay put. You just got back from a long vacation a month ago; do you think you¡¯d get to take another one so soon?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ I guess you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°I think the ones heading to Cornus will be Yuuri, myself, and Yig as well. I leave the village in your hands.¡± ¡°Yeah, leave it to me!¡± Even though he was disheartened when he heard that he would have to stay here, the shine quickly came back to his face when his Master¡¯s trust was put on him. He¡¯s still a bit of a child I suppose. And so, after finishing up the small meeting and delivering an urgent month¡¯s worth of rings to Gusta in the magic tool shop for selling, we started heading towards Cornus. --------------------------------------------------------------- Alec: ¡°Wait, is that the only appearance we get?¡± Yuuri: ¡°In the end, you are in supporting roles after all.¡± Chapter 52: The Phantom Thief’s Activity? Chapter 52: The Phantom Thief¡¯s Activity? Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The next day we started heading towards Cornus together with mister Oreas. Ahh, is my life of laziness, obscenity, and decadence over after just one month? Well, it was a little different from what I dreamed of, so I¡¯m not exactly reluctant to have it end. ¡°But you know, last time it was Solkalis, and next is Cornus? All we¡¯ve been doing is traveling lately.¡± ¡°There was a month between though? Besides, there¡¯s actually a lot that happened over here. Alec, before coming here, would have had a harder daily life, for example.¡± ¡°I suppose him having a more robust body is thanks to our trip. Do you think I¡¯ll get a little stronger too?¡± ¡°A Yuuri who isn¡¯t frail seems a little off¡­ The Yuuri who made a bunch of crying noises like a bird before, that¡¯s the cute one.¡± ¡°Mister Oreas, this is the true character of the sage. He¡¯s a degenerate.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t drag me into this¡­¡± This time our itinerary involves riding our own carriage. We traded the large carriage we purchased last time with the village chief, mister Halt. All he had on hand was the small type of carriage always used for purchases. Mister Oreas focused on speed of travel, so he rode to Mareba by horse, but since we don¡¯t know how long we¡¯re going to be staying, and have quite a bit of luggage, we can¡¯t do that. Mister Oreas is riding next to our carriage on horseback. Haster and I are sitting alongside each other in the drivers seat. Yig is sleeping on my lap. ¡°It seems we¡¯ll be taking things slowly, but will they be okay over there?¡± ¡°Oh, our enemy this time strangely leaves ¡®notices,¡¯ so there shouldn¡¯t be any issues.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a serious ¡®Phantom Thief¡¯ affectation right there.¡± ¡°Up to there is all well and good, but¡­¡± He hesitates to continue, with a sour look on his face. I wonder if there¡¯s some kind of problem? ¡°Livyatan sends out notices like an old-fashioned phantom thief, but¡­ In spite of that, Livyatan is the type with a slanted standpoint that laughs while jumping clear over you.¡± ¡°Slanted standpoint?¡± ¡°We should have plenty of time during the trip, so why don¡¯t I tell you about our target?¡± ¡°Oooh, you¡¯re going to tell us stories about a phantom thief?!¡± Phantom thieves were a popular thing in Japan after all. Hearing stories about a real life phantom thief, my eyes just won¡¯t stop sparkling. ¡°Apparently the first appearance happened about three months ago. The first target was a jewel in the house of a rich man in Cornus from what I hear.¡± ¡°Hoho, quite conventional.¡± ¡°In response to the sudden notice, at first they say he thought it was some kind of joke, but just in case, he replaced it with an imitation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an equally conventional precautionary measure.¡± ¡°When the day on the notice arrived, nobody appeared¡­ He decided it really was a joke, and the day he switched the jewel back, Livyatan appeared, laughing loudly, and apparently went to steal the jewel.¡± ¡°Wow, so the thief saw through the fake.¡± ¡°Nope, Livyatan went and stole that fake¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± So the reason it didn¡¯t get stolen wasn¡¯t because it was switched out? What the hell is this all about?! ¡°In response to the rich man shouting, ¡®How cowardly of you to not appear on the day of your notice!,¡¯ Livyatan apparently responded, ¡®Eh? You mean it wasn¡¯t today?¡¯¡± ¡°¡­ The thief just got the date wrong?!¡± ¡°After a long and brutal runaround, since only the fake was stolen, the cost of security caused the biggest loss apparently.¡± ¡°Sounds like a hack.¡± ¡°The next appearance was one month later. This time the target was supposed to be a goddess statue owned by a different wealthy individual.¡± ¡°Now there¡¯s a big target. Did the thief get the date wrong again?¡± ¡°Nope, the house next door to the one who got the notice had a dubious ceramic cat stolen from them.¡± ¡°Why the one next door¡­?¡± ¡°After a while, the cat statue was apparently returned. The attached message said, ¡®I made a mistake. I¡¯m sorry.¡¯¡± ¡°So this time the thief mistook the house¡­¡± Just how much of a klutz is this phantom thief¡­? There are neither dreams nor nightmares in this. Actually, it seems like this thief is a professional comedian, so maybe we would be better off sending a talent scout over? ¡°Well, after all that, the damage is pretty minor, but it¡¯s awfully difficulty to respond to actions that can¡¯t be anticipated at all. And so, a request was sent in to the guild.¡± ¡°Certainly, such clumsy moves one after another can¡¯t be predicted very easily.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got it. The culprit is Yuuri.¡± ¡°What are implying, Haster?!¡± I sent a single serious punch towards him after he poked fun at me. There was no damage though. ¡°The third time was about one week before I left Cornus?¡± ¡°So there was a third time. I feel like I¡¯d rather not hear any more.¡± ¡°As you might expect, after a third time the thief was seemingly caught.¡± ¡°Wow, how did that happen?¡± ¡°While running away, the thief was struck by a carriage, and knocked unconscious.¡± Mister Oreas concludes with a hollow look in his eyes. My eyes feel the same way. Ah, the sky is so blue¡­ ¡°The thief was caught and put in prison, but somehow escaped the same day.¡± ¡°But if the thief was caught then you should know what the person looks like, right?¡± ¡°About that¡­ Apparently everyone involved couldn¡¯t remember a damn thing about the thief. Or maybe I should say they couldn¡¯t remember the thief¡¯s face¡­ From the looks of it, all they can remember is that the thief is a woman.¡± ¡°[Recognition Blocking], or [Memory Erasure]¡­ Either one would be high level magic. Perhaps she¡¯s more skilled than we realize?¡± ¡°Yeah, Which is why we decided we wouldn¡¯t be able to catch her, and concluded that we should seek your assistance, Haster.¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m a hot-blooded magician too. There aren¡¯t many ways to respond in arresting that kind of opponent.¡± He has a bitter look on his face, but in contrast my own interest was piqued. Memory manipulation type magic is something I¡¯ve hardly heard anything about after all. ¡°How interesting. I would absolutely love to catch her and have a chat.¡± ¡°Hmm, all I can remember about that type of magic is it had nothing but a lot of difficult spells.¡± ¡°Well, I would be happy to expand my repertoire. To say nothing of how someone who holds the title of ¡®Sage¡¯ by itself is a deterrent.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t stay in Cornus forever, you know.¡± ¡°I understand that.¡± Memory manipulation type magic though? If used right, it could make disguising Haster easier. [Transformation] changes the body itself, so there aren¡¯t many worries about it being seen through, but we have to cast it together. Also, if we don¡¯t have to use [Transformation], then I won¡¯t have to check to make sure he doesn¡¯t use it for weird stuff¡­ ¡°Well anyway, this type of enemy is probably more suited for Yuuri than for me.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yeah, in fact, the ¡®we don¡¯t know what she¡¯ll do next¡¯ point is something that Yuuri is also particularly good at.¡± ¡°I see, so that¡¯s what you mean¡­¡± ¡°Hey jerkbags, I will make you wish you never opened your big mouths¡­!¡± I glare at the two of them reproachfully. But we don¡¯t know what she¡¯ll do next, huh¡­ Actually, Bahamut would probably be more suited to that. Come to think of it, he said he was monitoring us. Does that mean he¡¯s nearby even now? As I slowly start looking cautiously at our surroundings, the two of them look at me suspiciously. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Well, I was just wondering if Baha¡ªUh, Bart is nearby.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, he did say he was keeping watch¡­¡± Haster¡¯s attention immediately tightens up. This side of him really is pretty cool. ¡°Appraising¡± a ¡®space¡¯ puts too much of a burden on me, so I used [Far Sight] to search the surroundings, but I don¡¯t see him anywhere. But then, I don¡¯t think he would conceal himself in a way that could be detected by such a rough search. ¡°Just searching is futile, huh¡­¡± ¡°I guess so. At the very least, he¡¯s not lacking in ability.¡± ¡°Are you certain we¡¯re being tailed by someone?¡± Mister Oreas seems worried. Come to think of it, our band is entirely made up of magicians. It makes sense he would be worried when he doesn¡¯t have his usual specialists with him. ¡°Yeah, by Bart. He¡¯s following us, but he doesn¡¯t appear to be hostile, so it shouldn¡¯t be all that dangerous. For now.¡± ¡°He¡¯s just hanging around us because he thinks it could be interesting, which is no laughing matter though.¡± ¡°Bart¡­ Oh, wasn¡¯t he the one who came to attack you near Solkalis?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t come to attack me. We¡¯ve had a few opportunities to talk after that, so our mutual understanding deepened, but¡­ We concluded that he¡¯s basically a stalker.¡± ¡°Even though I already told him Yuuri belongs to me¡­¡± Rumble, rumble¡­ The ground seems to shake with the intensity Haster is giving off. The horses lightly shake, showing their displeasure. ¡°Haster, stop that please. You¡¯re scaring the horses. And me.¡± ¡°A-aah. Sorry, horses.¡± ¡°And me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll thoroughly apologize to you tonight.¡± ¡°No, thank you.¡± I¡¯ve stirred up the hornet¡¯s nest. I would really prefer you not do this in front of company. I do have a fair sense of shame. Seeing my face turn red and get seriously mad, he let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Could you please not do this in front of company?¡± ¡°I say this all the time, but¡­ You belong to me, alright? I have absolutely no intention of showing you off in front of other people. In spite of how I may seem, I¡¯m greedy.¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m glad you think of me that way, but¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect I would still be under suspicion. You¡¯re all that I look at¡­ Come on, get a little closer.¡± ¡°Hast¡ª¡­ Kya?!¡± The moment he grabbed me around the shoulders and rushed into ¡®nighttime mode,¡¯ the carriage rocked as it passed over a stone. Even so, my immediate scream was very womanly¡­ I feel like my mental contamination rate has been accelerating recently. I already prepared myself for this, so I suppose¡­ Maybe this is a good thing? ¡°Sheesh! You should be looking at the ¡®road¡¯, not at ¡®me¡¯!¡± ¡°Aah, sorry.¡± While I shout at him to hide my embarrassment, he unreservedly pats my head, and gives a perfunctory apology. He doesn¡¯t seem sorry at all. Well neither am I! ¡°Ugyu?¡± The sudden shake woke Yig, but we feigned ignorance. He swings his head in mister Oreas¡¯ direction, and asks what happened with his eyes. As usual, he¡¯s a skilled performer. Perhaps he didn¡¯t want to explain either; he shrugged his shoulders in reply. Use your words, people. The first day of our journey ended as we continued this kind of exchange. Chapter 53: A City’s Calamity Chapter 53: A City¡¯s Calamity Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Three days out from the cottage. Haster¡¯s self-control somehow managed to endure, and we were safely approaching the city of Comb. A forest spreads out on Comb¡¯s south side, to its north-west is a mountain, and north-east has many rolling hills. The highway goes through from east to west, and extends to the north where the trade border is. The vineyards those hills are used for are famous, so a highway was provided for their foreign trade. That is the history of how Comb made its metamorphosis into a trade city. ¡°Last time we got our wallet swiped as soon as we arrived. Such a nostalgic memory.¡± ¡°You know that was just a month ago, right?¡± ¡°Well sure, but¡­¡± ¡°Shaddup!¡± We haven¡¯t entered the city yet, but master is staying in his young form. He is basically famous, so if anyone here knows him it could cause a fuss. In spite of this being a trade city, the speed of information is slow in this world, so there are surprisingly few people who know his face, which probably makes this a pointless concern. Even the face of Alec, one of the fresher talents on the scene, hasn¡¯t been spread very widely after all. ¡°In any case, the entrance line certainly is long this time, huh?¡± ¡°One month¡­ Come to think of it, shouldn¡¯t Elric have returned from buying ore around now?¡± ¡°I see, so basically you¡¯re saying it¡¯s overflowing with merchants seeking the fresh raw ores, I guess.¡± ¡°Nope, he came back with us, so he got back to Comb about a week ago.¡± If it¡¯s been a whole week, then the rush period definitely would have passed. So this line is here because¡­? Haster politely calls out to someone in a nearby line to gather information. ¡°Excuse me, I noticed the line seems longer than usual; did something happen in the city?¡± ¡°Oh, so you were caught in this line too, boy? Well I¡¯m not too sure myself, but it sure is longer than normal.¡± ¡°Has something like this happened recently perhaps?¡± ¡°I suppose. This place is important for trade, so there¡¯s always some line, but this is the first I¡¯ve seen it like this.¡± It would seem this is quite the unusual situation. Haster¡¯s appearance is that of an innocent boy, so the man spoke plenty to him without caution. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that a wyvern appeared in a city to the north though. It¡¯s been dangerous lately, so you be careful, hear? You make sure you listen to your father too, little lady.¡± ¡°Buggoffu?!¡± Mister Oreas coughed strangely. Well, I guess having someone older than him, like Haster, mistaken for his child would be worthy of a spit-take. And hey, mister, that ¡®father¡¯ is one of the ¡°wyvern¡± killing heroes. Though the one who exterminated it was actually this ¡°little lady¡±. To top it off, this thing riding on my head is the child of that ¡°wyvern¡±. ¡°Whoops, is the line moving? Well I¡¯ll be going ahead then. May we meet again in town.¡± ¡°My apologies for holding you up.¡± ¡°Here little lady, have this candy while you¡¯re waiting.¡± ¡°¡­ Thanks.¡± ¡°Excuse ¡°my children¡± for bothering you¡­¡± Mister Oreas¡¯ expression is somewhat¡­ No, very anguished, almost like he¡¯s making a mortifying decision as he expresses his gratitude. After seeing the man off as he waves his hand, I speak to mister Oreas. ¡°Heeey, Papa, something must be happening in the city, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you ¡°Papa¡± me.¡± ¡°Yeah, for real. You should call him ¡°Father¡± like a proper daughter.¡± ¡°¡­ Please, not you too, mister Haster.¡± Haster joins in on the joke. I¡¯ve been thinking about this while watching him for the past three days, but it really seems like he¡¯s mentally reverting to childhood too. With my turning more womanly, and his turning more boyish, it would appear that a person¡¯s body has a strong influence on their mentality in this world. ¡°But when it comes down to it, ¡®something must be happening¡¯, huh?¡­ Whenever I go on a journey with Yuuri, we can¡¯t seem to go the whole way without trouble.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound like it¡¯s my fault.¡± I poke his cheek for saying something rude. With fierce training during these three days, I¡¯ve become able to touch him. But then there¡¯s still some discomfort, so I would prefer he not embrace me while in this form. The training involved being held in his arms during his boy form while we slept, but even that led to insomnia for me. ¡°Chomp¡­ Speaking of strange, there are quite a few soldiers lined up outside the city, aren¡¯t there?¡± Tossing the candy into my mouth, I look at the guards escorting the lines. Normally these guards would be on constant standby in the guardroom, but¡­ Having them escort the waiting line at the entrance is unusual. ¡°Now that you mention it, you¡¯re right. It¡¯s also strange that they¡¯re fully equipped¡­ Not as if they¡¯re going to war, but like they¡¯re going on a raid.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard talk of bandits around these parts, but¡­ Oh, Livyatan aside of course.¡± ¡°Based on what you¡¯ve told us mister Oreas, they wouldn¡¯t be on this high of alert for her I would think.¡± ¡°I suppose that means she¡¯s an opponent we can feel safe about.¡± Eventually, despite arriving at the city before noon, we only finally entered the city in the evening. ~*~ ¡°Huh? An orc?¡± After entering the city and finding an inn to take a break at, we managed to hear what¡¯s happening in the dining area. The inn is one that mister Oreas often uses, saying it¡¯s recommended by the adventurer¡¯s guild or something. Yig can also stay here, so it¡¯s nice how relaxed it is. Haster and I are staying in one room, while we¡¯re having Yig stay with mister Oreas in another. It¡¯s important to have some balance in fighting potential anyway. The first floor was used as a dining area, so when we were gathering information there, the lady from the inn got wound up as if she¡¯d just been waiting for someone to ask. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right, they say that orc built a nest near here.¡± ¡°I see, so that¡¯s why they¡¯re being so cautious?¡± ¡°I think the mood seems a little exaggerated for just an orc, but¡­¡± Haster and mister Oreas seemed somewhat convinced by it. The inn lady gave off a, ¡°eww, gross, gross,¡± feeling as she pulled in her shoulders. ¡°Hey, by orc you mean¡­ Those things with pigs¡¯ heads that are ugly, dirty, and have as much energy as Haster?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that bad.¡± ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this? Has your little sister seen through you? Well, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re in your prime, but don¡¯t act too rashly.¡± The lady hits his back as he coughs. Hey wait, me, his little sister? I don¡¯t think he, with his black hair, and I, with my silver hair, look very much alike. ¡°She¡¯s not my sister. This is my wife.¡± ¡°Whoops, so she¡¯s your fiance or something? That was rude of me.¡± Now it¡¯s a fiance? We flew right past that, and went straight to marriage though. I lift the fruit water filled mug with both hands and gulp it down. The reason I¡¯m holding it with two hands is because the mug is too big¡ªI can¡¯t hold it with one. Each and every dish at this inn is a large portion. Leave it to an adventurer¡¯s haunt I suppose. Perfect score on the volume of the meals. ¡°Orcs won¡¯t even let a little lady like yourself off, ya know. Best be careful with your children when leaving the town, sir.¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± He seems like he¡¯s about to cry, as he¡¯s believed to be the dad here too. After enjoying the conversation for a while, the lady had other orders come in, so she left the table. Once the people around us were gone, we lowered our voices and started our conference. ¡°Are orcs really that much of a threat?¡± ¡°For normal people. A human is no match for their strength and stamina, so going all out at them head on would be difficult.¡± ¡°But then, humans have ¡°technique¡± on their side. Orcs are no match for someone with a fair bit of knowledge.¡± In response to mister Oreas¡¯ vigilance, Haster shows composure. This probably shows the difference in their abilities. ¡°Their thoughts are simple, they fall for feints easily, and they have absolutely no way to cope with magic. So you could say they¡¯re an easily hunted, delicious opponent for a person with some ¡®skill¡¯.¡± ¡°The problem is that characteristic of theirs. Even without a female around, they can assault females of other species and propagate with them. In other words¡­¡± ¡°Weaker humans would be perfect prey for them. Orcs are the great kings of eroticism here too, I guess.¡± ¡°Kings of eroticism¡­ Uhh well, certainly I¡¯ve heard that it often turns out that way, but¡­¡± A delicate expression comes to Haster¡¯s face. However, that means that I, happening to be a woman, will absolutely have to be cautious. What kind of actual combat power do they have I wonder? ¡°If we were to actually fight them, about how powerful might they be?¡± ¡°Their strength and stamina are about twice that of the average person. The brute force approach would be disadvantageous.¡± ¡°The orcs¡¯ greatest threat is that breeding ability of theirs. If they get their hands of any victims, then they¡¯ll gradually increase until their sheer numbers become a problem.¡± ¡°Sounds like a pretty terrible outcome. Can they be suppressed by the guardsmen of this city?¡± ¡°If they¡¯ve been taking their training seriously, then it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Hmm¡­ Hmm? Wait, could this, possibly¡­ just maybe¡­? ¡°Uhh¡­ Is it all right if we stop at this city for a while?¡± ¡°Oh, is there something bothering you?¡± ¡°Ermm, a bit. There¡¯s something I want to investigate.¡± ¡°Oreas, are we okay on time?¡± Haster checks with mister Oreas. Somehow it seems he doesn¡¯t want to stay long, does he? Orcs are spreading in the neighborhood, and I, his wife, am here with him, so I do understand though. ¡°Sure, seeing as Livyatan only seems to strike about once a month. It¡¯s only been about ten days since her last crime, so we should be fine.¡± ¡°Yuuri, how long will it take to investigate whatever it is?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be sure until I actually check. But it shouldn¡¯t take more than ten days I think.¡± ¡°In which case we¡¯d barely make it¡­ But in this situation, you¡¯re gonna have to be plenty careful with what you¡¯re doing, got it Yuuri?¡± He strokes my head worriedly. This kind of worry feels quite nice. I can truly tell he¡¯s worried for my sake. I really do need to focus on being able to touch him. However, I would feel bad if I only make him worry the whole time, so lets make sure to get this investigation done quickly. ¡°I understand. You be careful too Haster, okay? The guardsmen have their attention turned outside the city, so I would not be surprised if things turn lawless inside it.¡± ¡°Small fry around here wouldn¡¯t even cost me a second. This body hasn¡¯t reduced my power in the slightest.¡± Rather than his power reverting, it has actually gotten even stronger. Anyone trying to be a thug might even have their brain matter scattered from just a forehead flick by him. Strength-wise, even mister Oreas has three times the average person. Haster¡¯s strong arms have exceeded even six times that. Me? One tenth of the average person; what of it? A while back I joined in the physical fitness measurements at the village school, and they measured that I didn¡¯t even have a grip strength of 8 kilograms. Plus my back strength was 27 kilograms, which is just barely enough to support myself. The damn brats who were there pointed and laughed at my weakness, so I used [Body Reinforcement] to completely crush the grip strength measure. That made them piss their pants. Serves ¡¯em right. ¡°In any case, the food is gonna get cold if you don¡¯t hurry and eat, you know? ¡°Haster, it¡¯s a bit strange how much you¡¯re hurrying me to finish eating, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Wh-what might you be talking about¡­?¡± His eyes swimming about don¡¯t hide a thing. Well, we¡¯re newlyweds, so it makes sense. ¡ªGoodness, there¡¯s just no helping this guy! It would appear that there¡¯s some long awaited work to do tonight. Chapter 54: A Single Act in the Morning Chapter 54: A Single Act in the Morning Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: Go explode --------------------------------------------------------------- The next morning I left the inn with a cane. Haster uhh, gave it a little too much effort. Suppressing my wobbling knees, I used a cane borrowed from the inn to support myself¡­ Well then, where should I go? ¡°Thinking about it, I don¡¯t know much about this city. I need a guide.¡± ¡°Agya?¡± Yig, who came along as an escort, tilts his head as well. He shouldn¡¯t be familiar with this city either, so he won¡¯t be much help for that. When it comes to guides, the only acquaintances in this city are, mister Oreas and Haster aside, only mister Elric and miss Leche. Moreover, I don¡¯t know where the Elric couple lives. We met up in front of the gate last time. ¡°So I guess in the end we¡¯ll have to ask Haster to guide us?¡± ¡°Ugyun.¡± Yig has gotten quite a bit bigger in this past month, so instead of riding on my head, he¡¯s on my shoulders now. The reason my shoulders have been stiff lately is probably because of this kid. If they were gonna get stiff, then I wanted them to get stiff from having big boobs. Turning on my heel, I went back to the inn to find Haster (boy mode) taking his breakfast in the dining area. He went back to his adult form just at night, since I couldn¡¯t keep calm otherwise, but before I left, we canceled his [Transformation]. He notices me, waves his hand and calls me over. He almost looks like a puppy. ¡°What, Yuuri, did you already finish your business?¡± ¡°I had a problem before I even began. I don¡¯t know much about this city, so I don¡¯t even know where to go to investigate anything and¡­¡± ¡°Haha, well I guess we did only pass through before.¡± His lively appearance while laughing makes it seem like he really is a little boy inside. Will I get used to this eventually too? Right, let¡¯s take the first step towards that goal today while we¡¯re at it. Time for a date! With that decided, I¡¯ll hurry and invite him¡­ ¡°Haster, uh, umm¡­ Would you show me around the city?¡± ¡°As long as I can finish my food first, sure.¡± He displays his vigorous appetite as he munches down. With his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel stuffing its mouth, he definitely does not look like a boy who¡¯s just been asked out on a date. The mood is ruined. Oooh, sure, he was just raring to go last night though. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s running on empty now, god dammit all! ¡°But hey, ya know, it kind of bothers me that I can¡¯t drink while I¡¯m in this form.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t particularly like it when you do, so that¡¯s not a problem. And by the by, please don¡¯t say things like that out in the open.¡± ¡°But I enjoy it quite a bit. Getting that fuzzy feeling in my head after drinking and stuff.¡± ¡°I think having all sorts of things blown away from that fuzzy feeling is a problem. Like your reasoning, or your self-restraint.¡± ¡°I do work a lot harder after drinking than when I¡¯m sober.¡± ¡°So that was the culprit, huh¡­?¡± To think his sex-focused mode was caused by his drinking every night¡­ I¡¯ll have to consider what¡¯s on the menu from tonight onwards. ¡°Haster, let¡¯s abstain from alcohol starting tonight!¡± ¡°What, why?¡± ¡°I like you when you have your wits about you. When you¡¯re more of a beast¡­ Well, it¡¯s not that I dislike it, but it bothers me when you¡¯re always a beast.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being a beast? You get happy about it.¡± ¡°My body can¡¯t handle it!¡± ¡°Lovers¡¯ talk is all well and good, but be discreet about it.¡± ¡°Ukyan?!¡± Someone was behind me who hit my butt and then gripped her fist for further emphasis. It¡¯s the inn lady. Now that she mentions it, there were many other customers having breakfast in the dining area. ¡ªIn other words, I¡­ Was openly, and completely, exposing our night time activities in front of other customers¡­? Blood instantly rushed to my head, and I was conscious of my face turning red. I unconsciously hid my face in my arms, and made to dash away from there at lightning speed. The problem was all the work from last night¡­ My weakened hips wouldn¡¯t listen to me, and I flipped over right then and there. ~*~ ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡­ Laying your paws on such a little girl like this. There¡¯s a lot of preparation that girls need, you know?¡± ¡°Uhh, actually¡­ Yuuri may look this way¡ª¡° ¡°Don¡¯t you be quibbling with me! You may be similar in age, but you¡¯ve gotta hold yourself back for another five years, or you¡¯ll break her.¡± ¡°No, look, I¡¯ve waited a good five years alre¡ª¡± ¡°Shut yer damn mouth!¡± Haster is getting a scolding from the inn lady. I was sitting in his seat, and while stuffing my cheeks with a salad sandwich for breakfast, I was being assaulted by the gazes around me, so¡­ ¡°¡­ I want to hurry and get out of here.¡± ¡°Ugyuu¡± The surrounding male customers sent gazes that practically shouted, ¡°go explode, normies,¡± our way. The gazes from the women are painful too. Their eyes said, ¡°that damn bitch caught one of the good boyfriends¡±. This feels like some kind of public humiliation. ¡°Umm¡­ He¡¯ll hold himself back, so we¡¯ve got to¡­ I have some things to take care of too.¡± ¡°And you need to clearly refuse him if you don¡¯t like what he¡¯s doing, okay? No, at your age, turn him down even if you don¡¯t mind what he does.¡± ¡°Uh, yes, ma¡¯am.¡± But I don¡¯t age, so if I do that, then no matter how long I wait¡­ Well, he doesn¡¯t age anymore either anyway. Which would mean eternal postponement? I would really prefer to pass on that. Let¡¯s just find a good way to get through this, and say our farewells. ¡°It¡¯s fine. He likes big breasts, so he¡¯ll get tired of someone like me in no time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± ¡°What a horrible child! To think you¡¯d get bored of such a cute girl like this!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not gonna get bored of her! I would caress her all over for the whole day if she let me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling ya to control yourself, ya damn brat!¡± The lady slaps Haster loudly. By the looks of it, I made things heat up even more. Mission failed? ¡°Now listen here. Do you realize just how lucky you are? Look at the men around you!¡± ¡°Ah, so she did notice what¡¯s going on around us¡­¡± Our surroundings had become quite the miserable sight. Men gripping their mugs as they shed bitter tears, men crying while they stare towards the heavens, men biting down on dish cloths while pulling them as if to tear them apart¡­ Yeah, my previous self would have been one among them¡­ ¡°Oh, mister, the dish cloths are dirty, so you really shouldn¡¯t bite down on them, you know?¡± ¡°Oh, ooohhh¡­ Are you an angel?¡± The man seemed mysteriously moved by my advice. Yeeeaaah, that¡¯s just a little creepy, okay? ¡°Look at how distressed the unpopular men here are!¡± ¡°Hey, LAY OFF!¡± ¡°Listen up, you lot are unpopular with women because you start drinking first thing in the morning!¡± ¡°Is that any way to talk to your paying customers?!¡± Our entire audience turns on the lady at once when she identifies their flaws. After having this scene shoved in their faces, being insulted seems to have snapped whatever string of reason they still had. The entire store spread out from our table, the battlefield, as it turned into a stage for The Lady vs. The Customers. We left our breakfast fee on the table and high-tailed it out of there. ~*~ ¡°Ugh, that was awful.¡± ¡°Hmph. This and that are all your fault for being so horny all the time.¡± ¡°That is one thing, and this is another. I have no intention of ceasing to love you, alright?¡± Since we left most of our breakfast when we escaped from the dining area, we calmed back down and moved toward something similar to a cafe for some food. This cafe has a bit of a refined air to it, and I noticed that most of the customers were female. We took seats near a window. He ordered a meat pie and coffee, while I ordered a parfait. One good thing about getting this body is that I now feel no shame in ordering this sort of thing. I liked sweets, but requesting a parfait as a guy all alone was a difficult task. With the appearance of a little girl, there are absolutely no issues! ¡°So? Where do you want me to show you around? Did you want to see the local attractions?¡± While stuffing his face with the pie, packed to the brim with filling, he asks me where I want him to take me. He really does eat a lot¡­ ¡°No, do you know of some place with detailed books on monster ecology?¡± ¡°Monster ecology, huh? For general information the books at a magic tool shop would suffice, but¡­¡± ¡°I would like ones with as detailed of information as possible.¡± ¡°Publications are exceptionally expensive, so¡­ Perhaps if we go to a wealthy man with a lot of knowledge¡­ Oh, I suppose that would apply to Elric.¡± ¡°Hmmm, would a merchant have books on things like monsters?¡± ¡°Typically, I suppose they wouldn¡¯t.¡± What¡¯s the point in bringing up wealthy people who just happen to have books? You¡¯ve got the means and the end switched around. But seriously¡­ The way he¡¯s eating makes his food look really delicious. I want one now, but I really don¡¯t have room left in my stomach for a whole one to myself. ¡°Haster, that sure looks good, huh?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°Can I have a bite?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll trade you for a bite of your parfait.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Answering as such, he dishes out a smattering of pie, and extends it to my lips. ¡ªI-is this¡­ Is this what they call an i-i-i-i-indirect kiss?! Well yeah, we¡¯ve done a whole lot more together than kissing, so it¡¯s probably a little late to be getting bashful, but it¡¯s still embarrassing out in public! However, this could be a chance¡­ I¡¯ll act like I¡¯m eating the pie, bring my mouth all the way around his finger, and then openly lick and taste it¡­ Haa, haa. ¡°Why is your breathing getting ragged?¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s nothing, just your bad habits rubbing off on me. I¡¯m perfectly fine.¡± ¡°I have no bad habits.¡± ¡°Are you insane?¡± I got a little carried away there, but I¡¯ll just calm down. Yeah. I bite down on it normally and savor the taste. Mmm, the flaky pie material is wrapped around the meat juices and plentiful ingredients, and the difference between the textures of the inside and outside is exquisite. It¡¯s a little on the salty side, but for my body that¡¯s fatigued from working late into the night, it tastes very delicious. ¡°This is pretty good¡­ It tastes like it would go well with sweets. Oh, here, your taste in return.¡± I take a scoop of the parfait and bring it to Haster¡¯s lips. He swallows it up in one bite, and tastes its sweetness. ¡°Mmm, it tastes pretty good, but I guess it doesn¡¯t quite go well with the piping hot pie? It feels like its coldness is making the fat from the meat harden in my mouth.¡± ¡°Ooh, I guess that would be a problem. Maybe it would have been better to rinse it down with a drink beforehand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do just that, so give me another bite.¡± ¡°Ergh, I believe that would be in violation of our equivalent terms of exchange?¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite cheap as a guide fee though.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being damn shrewd.¡± Saying so, I once again present the spoon to him. Just then, the sounds of giggling flew into my ears. ¡°Hey look. What a cute couple.¡± ¡°Wha, aren¡¯t they siblings?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be; they don¡¯t look alike, do they? But they sure are cute. Sure the girl is, but the boy is too!¡± Uuuh, come to think of it, this would look like a young couple feeding each other from an outside perspective¡­ We were going to just eat together like we normally do, but it was probably a failure. ¡°Oh, did she hear us?¡± ¡°The girl is bright red! How cuuute¡ª¡± This can¡¯t be happening¡­ I¡¯m afraid I might not have much self-control either. For now I¡¯ll push the parfait over to him, and bring the conversation back on topic. ¡°What, you¡¯re done?¡± ¡°My stomach is all full. Anyway, about the books¡­ Is there no place that deals in things like dictionaries?¡± ¡°Hm? In that case, rather than a magic tool store, a store for rare and old books would probably be better. Books have value as works of art too, so there should be quite a few collected.¡± ¡°Then could you guide me to there?¡± ¡°Got it. Then I guess we¡¯ll go once I¡¯ve cleaned this off.¡± Our next destination is a rare book store. But with how shy I feel having a date, I couldn¡¯t manage to continue it in public. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: Aaah, I was determined to increase the tempo while writing, and yet here I am writing this fluff¡­ orz Chapter 55: Foras’ Rare Book Store Chapter 55: Foras¡¯ Rare Book Store Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Nearly half-way through the chapters! Here¡¯s some Yuuri for your entertainment: Once our stomachs were appeased, we started heading toward the rare book store. Going a little way down the main road, the foot traffic suddenly decreased, almost making it feel like a different city. ¡°This sort of deserted feeling is nice too. It feels like we¡¯re exploring.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t come here on your own, okay? There¡¯s usually slave dealers and their ilk around here.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah I won¡¯t. Probably¡­¡± After a short walk, Haster entered a single private house. This is a rare book store? There isn¡¯t even a sign out here, but¡­ I follow after him, and upon passing through the door, the unique smell of old books filled the air. An enormous number of books were packed tightly in bookshelves that far exceeded my height. ¡°Whoaa¡­?!¡± Though it¡¯s often said that youth tend to lose interest in serious reading, I more or less pride myself on being at the top level of Japanese people in how much I read. I was one of those weirdos who would mutter, ¡°Books? Haven¡¯t read much of those lately,¡± while absorbed in reading novels posted online. With this many books in front of me, of course I had to be excited. There aren¡¯t many means of entertainment in this world. Tracing my finger across the spines of the books packed into the shelves, I try pulling one out. ¡°It¡¯s a manuscript, huh. It¡¯s paper, but it¡¯s quite old?¡± ¡°That there¡¯s an illustrated botanical manuscript from two-hundred years ago. That particular one was produced about forty years ago, I suppose.¡± ¡°Uweh?!¡± The voice suddenly calling out startled me. Wh-where did that¡­ Looking more carefully, I could see a bald head beyond a mountain of books. Would that be the owner of this store? ¡°Ah, hello¡­ Pardon the intrusion.¡± ¡°I¡¯m supposing you¡¯re customers? My customers lately¡¯ve been quite polite. I¡¯m the owner here, Foras.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Yuuri Albine.¡± This is probably the first time I¡¯ve given this name out. Using his name with mine is sort of embarrassing. ¡°Albine? You related to that mischief-maker of a sage?¡± ¡°Mischief¡­? If you mean Haster, then yes, I suppose so.¡± I have a feeling he wouldn¡¯t believe me even if I told him that I¡¯m Haster¡¯s wife. Considering how I look. ¡°There sure is a lot here. This is an old book store?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not officially a store, actually.¡± ¡°This is simply where I keep all o¡¯ the books I¡¯ve gathered by my own interests. Though I¡¯ll sell some of ¡¯em if I¡¯m feelin¡¯ like it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing¡­¡± All these books¡­ Instead of just having a few days, I would like to try taking my time slowly reading here. But unfortunately, my current objective takes priority. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a book containing detailed information on monster ecology.¡± ¡°That¡¯d be in the shelves over here. Of the original texts, the newer ones¡¯ll be on the entrance side.¡± ¡°Would it be okay to read a bit in here?¡± ¡°Long as you don¡¯t get ¡¯em dirty, go ahead.¡± Mister Foras brought a stepladder over for me. He must have done so in consideration of my height. Maybe he¡¯s also telling me to use this in place of a chair? Since there are manuscripts and similar types of books included, some of them have nothing written on their spines. I¡¯ll have to sit down and take a close look at them. ¡°First¡­ In order¡­¡± I silently immerse myself in my examination. Thinking about it, Haster seems like he¡¯s got nothing to do. ¡°You not gonna read anythin¡¯ boy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here as an escort. If you have any recommendations though, then I¡¯d like to take a look.¡± ¡°How¡¯m I supposed to recommend somethin¡¯ when I don¡¯t know your interests?¡± ¡°Then how about ways to make women really sing at night¡ª¡° ¡°Could you please stop?!¡± My head springs up as I protest. I take my eyes off him for one minute, and he¡¯s already up to no good! Mister Foras also huffed as he dismissed Haster¡¯s request. ¡°Can¡¯t be showin¡¯ that stuff to minors, ya perverted brat.¡± ¡°In spite of my looks¡­ No, never mind. Well then, do you have anything on labyrinths?¡± ¡°Guess the kid is a boy. Adventures with women, labyrinths, and action stories are your preferences then?¡± ¡°Being more specific, I should say that I¡¯ve a budding interest in traps after studying them a bit.¡± Since Haster doesn¡¯t need to go through the world tree anymore, his trap research stopped part-way through. That¡¯s probably bothering him. ¡°Traps, huh¡­ I should have the trap encyclopedia issued by the thieves¡¯ guild somewhere ¡¯round here.¡± ¡°Whoa, hey, why do you have something like that? Wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous if they knew you had that?¡± ¡°Bah, they happen to know how useful my collection is to ¡¯em. There¡¯s a little bit o¡¯ give and take goin¡¯ on.¡± Mister Foras smiles as he laughs, while Haster responds with an exasperated expression. I suppose with how many there are here, it¡¯s probably highly valuable as data alone. Anyone who understands the value of things can understand just how much this is worth. In contrast, anyone who doesn¡¯t understand will probably only see it as a pile of paper. ¡°So there are guys among the thieves who understand the value this place holds.¡± ¡°If the ones orderin¡¯ others around are idiots, then the organization wouldn¡¯t be lastin¡¯ long. Fact is, a lot o¡¯ people in underground society are likely to take the opportunity to use my books.¡± I suppose fellows dyed in the Mohican world down to their brains wouldn¡¯t be able to accumulate knowledge of the past. Among thieves who act as adventurers, those with trap and mechanism disarmament skills are well sought after. But if that knowledge was never kept on the all-too-important thieves side, then the conversation would end there. For the thieves guild, that¡¯s probably the very reason why they ask people like him to gather information for them. Providing talented individuals who are useful to adventurers. That¡¯s probably also why they get away with having a dangerous name like ¡°Thieves¡± guild. ¡°But I never woulda thought that mischievous Haster would have a relative like you, young lady. His daughter? A niece?¡± ¡°If I had to say, then I¡¯m a slave to his lust I suppose?¡± ¡°Wha¡ªhey?!¡± ¡°His slave?!¡± ¡°He treats me well every night, so it¡¯s fine, right?¡± ¡°That shitty brat, he¡¯s finally gone so low that he¡¯ll lay his hands on a child¡­!? I¡¯ll fucking murder him the next time he shows his face here!¡± ¡°Won¡¯t be able to come here again¡­¡± Mwahaha¡­ This is payback for torturing me every night. But I would feel bad for him if I left things like this, so let¡¯s follow that up a bit. ¡°I¡¯m just joking. I¡¯m actually his wife.¡± ¡°Either way is basically the same. Young lady, if it ever gets hard for you, you¡¯re welcome here at any time, alright?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t have that. I won¡¯t hand Yuuri over to anyone.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s the boy¡­ Ooh, I get it. A lot¡¯s goin¡¯ on here¡­¡± He seems to be convinced of something odd. Perhaps he¡¯s writing a love story in his head about a depraved sage toying with the little girl he made into his wife, and their young boy servant or something? But more importantly, there¡¯s something he said in there that bothered me. ¡°That aside¡­ Have you known him for a long time?¡± ¡°Haster? I¡¯ve known him since he was a little brat.¡± ¡°Oh ho. Tell me more.¡± ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°You should hear this too, boy. You can expose your employer¡¯s embarrassin¡¯ past in all its glory.¡± Oh my¡­ I absolutely have to hear this! ¡°Please, tell me all about it. I will use it to pay back all the bullying he does to me.¡± ¡°Hahha! Sounds great.¡± And so, I listened to stories about Haster¡¯s youthful misconduct until the sun went down. The person in question was pressing down on his ears and writhing on the floor the whole time, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. ~*~ Night time, while having a meal in the dining hall, Haster gave me a comparatively serious sermon. It would seem that everyone has some type of forbidden past. ¡°I never thought I would be the one exposed to shame play.¡± ¡°Uuhh, I¡¯m sorry. But it was really fun, you know?¡± ¡°And while you two were out, I had to clean up the tragic event you left here in the dining hall¡­¡± ¡°Mister Oreas, could it be you¡¯re actually bad with people?¡± ¡°I get that a lot.¡± After waking up late and coming here for a meal, he apparently got mixed up in the quarrel between the lady and the adventurers developing here. Furthermore, the female adventurers were piggybacking on the lady, espousing their discontent and grumblings. That came to a head with a physical clash between them and the male adventurers who had a long history without girlfriends, turning it into a battle royal-like brawl. Since we were part of what caused it, he had to take responsibility as our fellow traveler. It seems he was left in the awkward position of having to clean up the dining hall after that mess¡­ Sorryz. ¡°Ahem, so then, Yuuri. Have you finished your investigations?¡± Naturally unable to handle the accusatory gaze, Haster attempted to change the topic. Of course, I¡¯m getting directly on board with that. Yes, I feel bad about it too. ¡°I listened to old stories about you all day, so there¡¯s no way I could have finished my search. But if you¡¯re asking how the harvest went, then it was a good harvest.¡± ¡°Forget everything you heard. Quickly.¡± He probably thinks of it as a particularly embarrassing past. But it was a very important story for me. Unusually, I stare at him with eyes full of passion, and sincerely tell him, ¡°I will not do that. I can¡¯t let there be any part of Haster that I don¡¯t know about.¡± ¡°Wh?!¡± In response to my statement, he held down his nose for some reason. His face is flushed too; maybe he has a cold? No, I¡¯m aware. I¡¯ve basically just stepped on a land mine. Looks like tonight is going to be intense too. Having a premonition of hard labor, I breathed a light sigh. Watching that scene, various parts of the dining hall spat out ¡°Keh¡± noises. ¡°The atmosphere in the dining hall sure has turned bad, huh?¡± ¡°And whose fault to you think that is?¡± ¡°Want to go to the cafe where we had breakfast? The pie over there was really good. I want to try their other ones, like the apple pie too.¡± With how good the meat pie was, the other pies they have are probably good too. Just imagining it makes me break out in a smile. I once dreamed of conquering all the sweets in my previous life too. My stomach is a lot smaller now, so I probably won¡¯t be able to do that now though. Seeing my smiling and slovenly face, Haster made a decision. ¡°Right, then once we¡¯re done eating we¡¯ll go for a light walk, and after we¡¯ve made room in our stomachs, we¡¯ll go and get dessert.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± ¡°Mister Haster, don¡¯t you think you¡¯ll be eating too much?¡± ¡°Actually, Yuuri could use some more meat on her bones.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get fat regardless of how much I eat, you know?¡± Since ¡°Golden Ratio¡± maintains my body shape. Upon my remark, this time, ¡°goddammit!,¡± could be heard in the grudging voices of the females in the room. ¡°On the contrary, your belly always bulges out after you eat, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Come to think of it, it does. I guess breaking the law of preservation of matter really is difficult?¡± Since my abdominal muscles are weak, looking at my bulging belly from the side shows the reality of it. It¡¯s a bit embarrassing. Almost like a child¡¯s¡­ Wait, this is a child¡¯s body, but with the effects of ¡°Golden Ratio,¡± that should be prevented for me¡­ Oh? Might this become some sort of breakthrough? I will firmly record this in my mental notebook. ¡°Hmmm, this will need some research. Maybe this will be useful for something?¡± ¡°Well anyway, right now is meal time. Oreas, could you request a drink for me? I can¡¯t order it when I look like a child.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare.¡± When you get alcohol in your system, you go into sex mode, so please abstain for today. While he bathed us in his grudging stare, we finished our meal, and sallied forth on our night time date. And yet, it would seem his crazy sex mode was there whether he had alcohol in his system or not. It really was his endless stamina. Chapter 56: In That Moment, History Moved (The Cooling Chapter) Chapter 56: In That Moment, History Moved (The Cooling Chapter) Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations And so, my investigation continued at mister Foras¡¯ place again today. He has plenty of books with information on monster ecology, but when it comes to detailed properties, I can¡¯t quite discover what I¡¯m looking for. ¡°Haaa¡­ I can¡¯t seem to find it.¡± Heaving a sigh, I remove my eyes from the book, lightly stretch and look over towards Haster. As usual he¡¯s reading some sort of manual on succeeding in labyrinths while in his boy form. Strangely, in spite of my heart pounding when I look at his appearance, my reflexive discomfort and feelings of rejection when touching him have yet to heal. Lately he¡¯s in boy form during the afternoon, and at night he [Transforms] back to his usual golden years self. Only he also plays around with [Transformation], making it bigger, increasing the number, or making it longer. As his partner this brings all kinds of difficulties to me. It would be fine if he at least stopped that¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve accepted everything about him, so consequently any slight changes from how he used to be gives me a feeling of discomfort¡­ Might be what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Hm? What¡¯s up?¡± He must have heard me muttering. He raised his head and inquired into what I was saying. I thought he was absorbed in his reading, but he sure does have sharp hearing. ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m just a little tired; do you want to take a breather?¡± ¡°Yeah, sounds good. I can feel my eyes getting a bit worn out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not quite finished with this book yet though¡­ Mister Foras, may I borrow this book for a bit?¡± ¡°As long as you don¡¯t get it dirty, go ahead.¡± I only asked because I had nothing to lose, but though I may have declared myself related to Haster, isn¡¯t he being a little too careless about it? Well, I¡¯ve been deliberately listening to his stories and indulging in reading his books these past two days, so maybe that means he¡¯s giving me some trust? ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the place on the main street to eat.¡± ¡°Sure thing¡­ Want to come along, Foras?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t getting in the way of your date; wouldn¡¯t wanna be a third wheel. Just take your sweet time.¡± ¡°I-i-i-it¡¯s not a d-date!¡± While giving a completely unconvincing statement, I went along with him to head out for a bite to eat. We had a light meal at the previous place with the delicious pie, and we continued reading while pecking at the berry pie we ordered for dessert. We were sitting at a well-lit window seat in the shop. Together with him, silently reading while carrying tea and coffee to our lips¡­ Forgetting about time, we spent a while like that, when I suddenly felt a gaze. ¡ªIs Bahamut still lurking around or something? Suddenly taking a look around, I noticed the number of customers in the shop had increased. Moreover, they seemed to take peeking gazes over in our direction? ¡°Sure is amazing, yeah, amazing.¡± ¡°So cute¡­ No, note quite. Maybe ¡®pretty¡¯ would be more fitting?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like a scene from a play¡­¡± I heard the women give one quick review after another. Guided by their voices, I look to the seat across from me, and¡ª A beautiful young boy in a magician-like robe, turning the pages of a book with a melancholic expression¡­ That¡¯s how he appeared. The light pouring in brought out the subtle shadows, and even the cooled coffee added to the perfect stage-set to make the flawless scene. ¡°Whoaa¡­¡± I spontaneously let out a sound of admiration. I¡¯m not the least bit surprised that those women were fascinated by this. His all too beautiful young boyishness brought blood to my head in excitement, and I could feel the tip of my nose getting warm. ¡°¡­ No fair.¡± I let words of criticism leak from my mouth. This is so unfair. How am I supposed to keep from being charmed by him when he looks like this? When I bring my hand to my warm nose, I feel something dripping¡­ Huh? ¡°Yuuri, your nose is bleeding.¡± ¡°Hwah! Awawawa¡­¡± He lines up two chairs next to me, creating a bed-like surface to lay me down on, and furnishes it with his lap as the pillow for me. ¡°You probably still have some resistance to this appearance, but bear with it for me. Also, manager, sorry, but can I let her lay here?¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s an emergency after all.¡± ¡°And we¡¯ve been sitting here for a long while now, too. I apologize for that as well.¡± ¡°Bah, thanks to you two, I¡¯ve gotten a bunch more customers; I¡¯m not gonna mind something as simple as that.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Come to think of it, today is the second day we¡¯ve been here, but there sure are a lot more customers than yesterday, huh? ¡°Since yesterday there¡¯ve been rumors going around of a young and beautiful couple coming here for their dates.¡± ¡°This is only the second day we¡¯ve been here though¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably because the impact from the first day was that strong. Strong enough that customers have been asking if you two had come by yet since this morning.¡± ¡°Is this a display to them?¡± Weariness is writ on his face. I feel that this expression is rare for him. Well, I can understand him being seen as a spectacle at least. ¡°You look like you think this is someone else¡¯s problem, but you¡¯re the one the gallery was viewing, Yuuri.¡± ¡°¡­ Wha?¡± ¡°After all, I look completely average. You¡¯re obviously the one they¡¯re looking at.¡± ¡°They¡¯re actually coming here to see both of you, ya know?¡± The manager brought cold orange juice over for me. ¡°Th-thank you very much?¡± ¡°It¡¯s on the house, so don¡¯t worry, just drink it down.¡± ¡°I see, I appreciate it.¡± Taking the effort to make things cold in this world is quite a valuable service. That value should be reflected in its price, but I guess this city has a lot of really friendly people. Thinking about it, the sunlight has been getting stronger lately, so walking around is starting to become annoying because of it. This body doesn¡¯t get sunburn, but even so, its pigmentation is weak, so the pain from the blistering sunlight still runs through me. ¡°I really want an air conditioner or something about now¡­¡± While this may be obvious, the five big conveniences of modern times; television, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and automobiles don¡¯t exist in this world. Water is turned to ice with [Freeze], wrapped in a towel and brought to my neck, while I sip at the orange juice and think. ¡°Air conditioner?¡± ¡°Ummm, it¡¯s a sort of mechanism-like construction which cools the air?¡± I give them a rough explanation. I can¡¯t really explain machines to them¡­ Wait, this is¡­? ¡°Actually, [Freeze]¡¯s effect is maintained, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That is certainly built into the spell. Because it was a spell originally invented to preserve fresh food.¡± ¡°What it cools¡­ Doesn¡¯t have to be meat, does it?¡± [Freeze] magic was a spell formula invented for storage, but it¡¯s actually a very high difficulty technique. To [Freeze] a substance, highly concentrated cold air must converge precisely on the target. And yet for storage purposes it must sustain its effect for a long period of time. For that reason, regardless of it being invented to be useful in normal life, its high degree of difficulty keeps it from spreading well. That¡¯s what kind of technique it is. ¡°Are you going to freeze the air? I¡¯m pretty sure that would kill us, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not exactly¡­¡± Maybe this is something I would be better off actually trying to create? Right, doing things as soon as they come to mind is one of miss Yuuri¡¯s merits. What I need is¡­ A large, elongated box with a solid frame, a flat board as something to freeze¡­ Flat¡­ No, never mind. And then one more thing; the spell Bahamut used the other day, [Ventilate]. If I use that¡­ ¡°Manager, may I have a moment of your time?¡± ¡°Hm? What is it?¡± ¡°Do you have a long wooden box about this big? Also two or three boards about like this, and an iron plate or something about this size¡­¡± My appearance as I gestured to demonstrate the sizes I need was probably somewhat comical. While laughing a bit, the manager said, ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look,¡± and went to the back of the store. After a short while, the manager brought the items as requested, so I went immediately to experimenting. ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯ll be borrowing this space for a bit. If this succeeds, then it will be yours free of charge.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah? Wait, more importantly, could you tell me what you¡¯re planning to do?¡± ¡°Make an air conditioner.¡± First, I cast [Freeze] on all the boards. I place those in the wooden box, affixing them to the upper half, and place the lid on. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re a magician?! Tell me beforehand if you¡¯re gonna use magic. Or are you trying to frighten me?¡± ¡°Oh, pardon me.¡± ¡°Sorry, manager. She can¡¯t be stopped once she gets like this.¡± I wouldn¡¯t go so far as to say magicians are considered suspicious, but ordinary people do tend to keep a little distance from them. Anyway, time to continue my work now. Next I cut a slit in the upper part of the lid, and make an exit point for the air to blow out of. I make a similar hole in the lower part of the box as an inlet. Last is the iron plate¡­ I burn the [Ventilate] spell on to the dish made of iron, fill it with plenty of magic power, and affix it in the lower part of the wooden box. Truly simple. It is now complete. I didn¡¯t even need thirty minutes for it. ¡°Now then, experiment begin.¡± I activate [Ventilate], inscribed on the iron dish, causing a breeze. The wind blows out upward, being impregnated with cold air as it blows past the [Frozen] boards along the way. [Freeze] concentrates cold air to put its target on ice, but it doesn¡¯t control how much cold air the frozen object gives off. And since it¡¯s a persistent effect, the [Frozen] object will absolutely not melt. In other words it will permanently continue giving off cold air. It¡¯ll stop working when the plate with [Ventilate] in the lower part runs out of magic power, but [Ventilate] itself isn¡¯t a particularly difficult spell, so it¡¯ll be easy to install a new one. And this [Ventilate] should be more than enough to maintain itself for a summer. ¡°If you replace this [Ventilate] inscribed part one a year, you should be able to pass the summer in cool bliss.¡± ¡°Oh ho, this is quite nice.¡± The principle of it is closer to a cold air fan than an air conditioner, but the ice it¡¯s using was made with [Freeze], so it is very high in effect. Unfortunately the air power on it couldn¡¯t be adjusted, but¡­ Wait, maybe I could build in three levels of [Ventilate], from weak wind to strong wind? ¡°I made the command words to start [Ventilate] up, ¡°Air conditioner, activate¡±. You can use the same words to turn it on or off.¡± ¡°Is this one of those magic tool things? I¡¯m pretty sure these things are paid for in gold coins. Are you sure about this?¡± ¡°Yes, this is still in the experimental stage, so I wouldn¡¯t take money for it.¡± I¡¯ll develop a more detailed commercial version later. I¡¯m sure it would sell fine at 10 gold coins each. ¡°But this is a surprise¡­ No matter how hot you may have felt, to create a magic tool like this so easily¡­ You magicians sure are somethin¡¯.¡± ¡°She¡¯s actually a special case. She is the ¡°Sage of Wind,¡± Yuuri Albine after all.¡± He gently emphasized the Albine name. His possessiveness is surprisingly strong¡­ I¡¯m happy about it though. I¡¯m really happy about it though! ¡°The rumored¡­ I¡¯d heard the owner of the title changed, but I had no idea she was still a child.¡± ¡°Could you at least call her a beautiful young girl?¡± ¡°Ooh, well she must certainly be your girlfriend. Are you sir Haster¡¯s apprentice too?¡± ¡°Ah, uh¡ªyeah. I sure¡­ am?¡± Haster was surprise attacked while endorsing me, then became tight-lipped. Don¡¯t you think that was careless? We have a very secret-filled personal history after all. And thus in the City of Comb, a specialty product called the ¡°Air Conditioner¡± was born. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: A story about one of the achievements made by Yuuri. Chapter 57: Orc Extermination Chapter 57: Orc Extermination Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Good news! First, this chapter marks half of the chapters in the series being translated for your enjoyment! WOO! Second, my translating speed is improving, and I¡¯ll have a fair bit of free time this week! So, in celebration of being half-way through translating the series, I¡¯ll be trying to release a few extra chapters this week. Look forward to some more Yuuri! And now, the chapter: After unexpectedly inventing a new magic tool at the cafe, I created one more ¡°air conditioner¡± to give to mister Foras as a gift. I bought several iron plates and placed many years worth of [Ventilate] on them, so that should hold for a while. I wrote how to create the magic tool¡¯s spell formula on a piece of paper that I handed over to the cafe¡¯s owner, so anyone interested should be able to figure out its composition. Of course it would be profitable to have exclusive sales of it, but¡­ Considering the riches stowed away at the cottage, it doesn¡¯t feel like there¡¯s much reason at this point. I¡¯m making it a free service. As long as I have enough in reserve to continue living with him, I don¡¯t need to live in excessive luxury. ¡°And so, here¡¯s a gift for you, mister Foras.¡± ¡°Hoo, a magic tool that blows out cool air, eh.¡± Mister Foras hears about the wooden box type magic tool, and appeared full of interest. Of course it¡¯s the first time he¡¯s seen this type of item, so that makes sense. ¡°You¡¯ll be really glad to have this for the coming season I think? The operator¡¯s manual is here.¡± ¡°This¡¯ll be a real life saver for me here.¡± ¡°In that case, make it so what I¡¯m searching for here is free.¡± ¡°Awfully shrewd of ya. But not a bad exchange for a magic tool I suppose.¡± Magic tools are usually paid for in gold coins, so it should be a nice deal. And so, having done a good job of selling my experiment results, I realized with a gasp, ¡ªI haven¡¯t made any progress on my investigation. This is supposed to be an inquiry that¡¯s required for my future livelihood, so what am I doing getting sidetracked?! I need to tackle this more seriously¡­ I tightened my expression into one of determination, and stretched my hand out to the next document. ~*~ ¡°¡ªFound it.¡± It¡¯s taken me about five hours since then. After reading through two more documents, I finally discovered the descriptive information in a third one. It said¡ª ¡ªAlong with the aphrodisiac component included in an orc¡¯s bodily fluids, it also has an ovulation inducing effect. The hero of erotic monsters, which can impregnate the females of any species: the orc. When that special characteristic of theirs came to mind, this is the question that I held. To accomplish mating between so many different species, it would of course be necessary to prepare the eggs on the female side. However, since there are very few women who would be excited by hideous orcs¡­ Without some sexual excitement, and easily induced ovulation, there would be problems in mating. Even so, they have the absolute most powerful breeding ability in the world. In other words, bringing women into ¡°that state,¡± I figured something had to be involved. Haster and I, having ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡±, have no species preservation instincts. To say nothing of the fact that my body turned ¡°Eternally Youthful¡± before my first menstruation. In other words, our sexual desires are completely for entertainment purposes, and we can¡¯t leave offspring as a result of our actions. But, if I can get hold of this ability of orcs, then even I can take the first step towards getting pregnant. Generally speaking, humans are ones who dislike loneliness. Life with just the two of us¡­ If that continues forever, then boredom and stagnation will inevitably set in. Right now Alec is giving us variation in our lives, but given another five years, he¡¯s sure to go off on his own somewhere. For that moment¡­ No, for my desires as an individual, I want a bond with Haster by any possible means. If I¡¯m going to be called a carnivore for that, then go ahead and call me a carnivore! ¡°But I obviously can¡¯t use it as is, huh¡­ Nonetheless, I need to actually have the stuff or, naturally, nothing will come of it.¡± If I use it as is, then it¡¯ll result in being pregnant with an orc¡¯s child. That¡¯s something I definitely can¡¯t have. I think some kind of processing will be necessary, but unless I see the actual real thing first¡­ Except the rule when it comes to orcs is that they¡¯re creatures to get rid of. Adventurers are actually gathering in this city right now to do that. If it continues to play out like that, the orcs in the area will probably be hunted down to the very last one. ¡°Hrm, that¡¯s¡­ Not good. I need to reserve at least one of them as a sample.¡± That¡¯s not the only problem. Drawing out their fluids would of course require touching them, after all. I feel discomfort just from touching boy-Haster, so touching a monster¡¯s¡ª and if it¡¯s an orc, then ¡°discomfort¡± wouldn¡¯t even begin to express it. Moreover, since it causes arousal in women, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to directly touch them. ¡°I¡¯ll need some other person¡­ But then, women would pretty much be hopeless¡­¡± Which means¡­ Men? To wring an orc dry? HasterxOrc came to mind for a moment, a thought I hastily dismissed. ¡°Who would want that?!¡± I reflexively gave my own rebuttal. The world of those aesthetics is a privilege only allowed to the beautiful. An orc being his partner is absolutely not going to fly. ¡°Bad, bad, that is so bad!¡± I¡¯m the only one allowed to have him in the first place. I¡¯m not going to let anyone else do that to him! Hold on, why did this go in the direction of wringing Haster dry I wonder? While squeezing my head and writhing around on the floor, I suddenly came to my senses. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll have to hire men who are in to that kind of thing.¡± I¡¯m sure if I go through the back alleys, there should be establishments of that type. The problem is I can¡¯t bring Haster along to there. Yeah, if I bring his beautiful boy self to a place like that, then I¡¯m sure his butt would be bleeding the next day. I can¡¯t very well go by myself¡­ But Yig isn¡¯t a very reliable escort either, so he¡¯s out. Which means, the only one left is mister Oreas¡­ ¡°Well heck, I don¡¯t really care if they dig into him.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up? Are you going to go dig a hole somewhere?¡± ¡°Well, I guess. They probably will dig into his hole.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t care personally, but young lady¡­ Could ya stop rollin¡¯ around in the store?¡± They stare at me dubiously after I had been rolling around on the floor. I have a feeling our dialogue didn¡¯t really connect, but eh, let¡¯s not worry about that. ¡°I¡¯ve gained insight on our next prospect, so I¡¯d like to go back to the inn, but¡­ Do you have anything else you want to do?¡± ¡°No, I was just thinking of suggesting that we head back after I¡¯m done reading this.¡± ¡°In that case I¡¯ll wait for you to finish reading, so take your time.¡± After that we returned to the inn, discussed the situation, brought mister Oreas with me to the back alleys¡­ And succeeded in hiring a number of male prostitutes. At that time, they were making excessive advances on mister Oreas, but, well, he somehow managed to weather through it. Yup, I got a peek into a new world. ~*~ A few days later. The orc nest was discovered in the southern forest, so an elimination group composed of adventurers was organized. We also formed a party, with mister Oreas as the leader, to join in on the excursion. A party of three people and one animal, moreover two of them being children, is probably a novelty for others to see. They¡¯re openly sending dubious gazes our way. It¡¯s officially mister Oreas joining solo. We are acting as his support, and joined in on the extermination. Becoming official adventurers involves registration and other obnoxious stuff. ¡°I guess it makes sense there aren¡¯t many women here.¡± ¡°Our targets are orcs, after all. Many among the other parties also had just their women sit this one out.¡± ¡°There¡¯s always that one in a million chance.¡± ¡°You be as careful as you can too, okay Yuuri?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. My main weapon is a bow, so I won¡¯t be getting close to them.¡± My ability to use magic isn¡¯t very well known, so I planned on being as secretive about it as possible. I used it quite openly at the cafe, but word of that hasn¡¯t spread very far yet. Haster is using the second weapon I developed, the super large war hammer, ¡°Cleaver,¡± and dragon scale equipment, making him look the part of the vanguard. Though since his physique is actually quite small, the unbalance between his that and his equipment is piling the attention from our surroundings on him. ¡°Yo, are you the ¡°Wyvern Killer¡± Oreas? It¡¯s a real honor to be teaming up with ya!¡± ¡°Is bringin¡¯ kids along really a good idea? Orcs¡¯ll be a pretty tough opponent for brats, don¡¯t ya think?¡± ¡°Not a problem. They¡¯re very skilled.¡± ¡°Try your best not to drag the rest of us down.¡± I suppose it makes sense that mister Oreas is well known. Many of the adventurers called out to him. Their tone is bad, but many of them seem worried for the children joining in on this. All together including us, there were 5 parties, totaling 23 people and 1 animal, to brave the forest. We gathered at 8 in the morning, arrived at the forest by 9, and began the search at 10. It¡¯s most effective to move against the nocturnal orcs in the early morning. ¡°Yig, take care of watching from the sky please.¡± ¡°Agya!¡± At my ¡°request,¡± Yig danced high into the sky. The other four parties have scouts in them, but we don¡¯t, so Yig¡¯s sky surveillance will be important. The only problem is, the forest is going to make his vision spotty. We can probably safely leave it to the other parties who seem to have plenty of experience, but¡­ Even so, their ability appears to be slightly lower than the members of Forest Bear before their strengthening, so I can¡¯t be careless. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a kefa fruit¡­¡± ¡°Now¡¯s not the time; keep cautious and focused.¡± When I found an antidote fruit on an animal trail and reflexively reacted to it, Haster was prompted to warn me. This is an occupational illness, isn¡¯t it? Naturally, with only the information that they¡¯re somewhere in the forest to go on, the search didn¡¯t proceed very smoothly. The deep undergrowth pulled at our feet and stopped us from walking. Within the gloomy forest, serpents and wild dogs came to attack us. Hidden in the thickets were sudden drop-offs to natural pits, causing people to get injured. With how untouched this place is by people, it¡¯s more openly murderous than the mountain at Mareba. Whenever the healers treated people we had to stop, slowing our progress. It¡¯s already well into mid-day. ¡°This¡¯ll only be dangerous if we hurry. Let¡¯s take a short break here.¡± ¡°Hey, what are you doing deciding for all of us?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t quarrel over something like this.¡± All the party leaders are talking together, but it doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯re cooperating very well. They¡¯re probably frustrated about how long it¡¯s taking, and how the search isn¡¯t progressing as they expected. They¡¯re fighting over leadership, displaying behavior similar to monkeys fighting to be the boss at the top. ¡°Now, now, calm down. At the very least, we do need to have a bite to eat, so having it now, while there¡¯s no danger around, isn¡¯t a bad idea.¡± ¡°Tsk, yeah, I guess¡­ Hey, we¡¯re having lunch.¡± He called it lunch, but it¡¯s nothing like what we did with the merchant party, when we started a fire and really cooked. It¡¯s rather poor fare; we sit down, shave off some dried meat and gnaw on it together with some bread. We can¡¯t really light a fire when we¡¯re near our target, so we can¡¯t make anything fancy. Our party also endured by cutting up some dried meat, sandwiching it between pieces of hard bread with vegetables, and gnawing on it. ¡°Agya.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s your share, Yig.¡± ¡°Ugyu ugyu.¡± Well, except I put soup in one of our water bags beforehand, soaked the dried meat in it, and used a little trick of soaking the bread in it when it was meal time. Hard, dried meat is tough on my jaw. Yig¡¯s sky surveillance slackened, the scouts were joining us for a meal¡­ The extermination group¡¯s caution dropped away, and in that moment¡­ Several massive figures appeared before us! Chapter 58: Raid Chapter 58: Raid Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations What suddenly appeared were giants who were nigh on 5 meters tall. Where were these massive figures lurking around? With their physique, just walking caused the ground to shake, as one let off a surprise blow. The guy who ate the brunt of that hit was the healer from the quarreling party. He was blown away several meters at great speed, then hit the ground. His chest is still moving, so he must still be breathing, but his limbs are twisted in unnatural directions, and he doesn¡¯t appear to be conscious anymore. The first to react was, of course, Haster. With how long he was a mercenary, he¡¯s able to immediately respond to crises. ¡°Yuuri, get back!¡± The second attack, which should have exacerbated the damage¡­ The same kind of blow that easily blew a person away, was easily stopped with Cleaver. While taking some distance, I checked our current state. What stood before us were giant creatures known as trolls. The blows given from their massive physiques possess power that practically spits in the face of techniques and skill. They¡¯re monsters who have turned countless warriors into chunks of meat. And there are five of them. Their rock-like skin could more appropriately be called a shell, it¡¯s so hard and tough. And in that very appearance lies their secret. In other words, these things¡­ They¡¯ve probably been lurking here in this rocky area all along. They¡¯re enemies that we normally should have noticed. But we were too busy keeping each other in check, and shouting. Instead of our attention being on what was around us, it was turned inward. We let our guards down completely. ¡°They¡¯re trolls! Five of them! They¡¯ve already got us surrounded in a close formation!¡± Mister Oreas briefly described the situation, and starts giving orders to the others. ¡°Leave healing the injured for later! Each party can take one of the trolls. Warriors, don¡¯t let them get through!¡± For the sake of supporting Haster, who¡¯s holding the enemy back, he molds magic power from behind. But it would seem he didn¡¯t need to do something like that. Though the troll swung its club around with strength exceeding that of five people, it was met with even greater strength and weight behind Cleaver¡¯s attack. On top of that, with [Acceleration] activating in assistance, it demonstrated unbelievable power as it turned the club to sawdust, and subsequently crushed the troll on the other end of that club. A sound similar to a water bag bursting sounded as a flower of blood bloomed. ¡°¡­ Urp?!¡± That uhh¡­ While I am its developer, that sight is gruesome. It¡¯s truly an appalling sight. I think I might puke. But that¡¯s the only direction I won¡¯t be able to keep my view towards. Just looking at that gruesome corpse makes me feel sick. In any case, there¡¯s no way a collection of intermediate level adventurers are going to be able to deal well with four trolls. I pull Third Eye (Revised) from my waist, nock an arrow, and choose a target. The most I can use [Body Reinforcement] in a day is three times. If I¡¯m going to use magic, then I should hold on to a little bit more, but¡­ This is no time to conserve energy. One of the warriors is holding his shield out in front to meet a troll with, and just as that monster is about to bring his club down on the warrior¡¯s head, I shoot my arrow at it! ¡°GOAAAAGYABUH?!¡± As it lets out a war cry, certain of its victory, an iron arrow surpassing the speed of sound slams into its face, and it also is pulverized. Hmmm¡­ Are the weapons I make a bit overpowered? ¡°I¡¯ll smash that beautiful face of yours into¡­ Er, it was actually a beastly face, though.¡± I tried muttering the signature phrase in a manga I saw somewhere. Mister Oreas also shoots off a ridiculously powered up [Flame Arrow] from his dragon claw staff, delivering a fatal wound to another one of them. Now with two remaining, the ones panicking from the surprise attack righted their stances. ¡°Hum, the ones who didn¡¯t drag their feet to the very end would be those who¡¯ve had plenty of experience I suppose?¡± If Haster hadn¡¯t stepped out in front front of me and exposed himself to danger, then even I probably would have lost myself in a panic and been crushed. The vanguard blocks the enemy attacks, and mister Oreas gets ready to deliver the finishing blows, while I head over toward the healer that was first hit to treat him. My healing magic is at a novice¡¯s level, but supplementing my lack of skill with magic power should make that no problem. I have knowledge of skeletal structure, so I roughly return the bones to their original place¡­ Urp. Connect the nerves¡­ Huueeh¡­ Then I just promote his natural healing ability, and he¡¯s more-or-less back to his old self. That umm¡­ I¡¯m a little weak to that grotesque imagery; I did a more-or-less adequate job, but¡­ Well, there shouldn¡¯t be any issues. Probably. ¡°Uh¡­ Kua¡­.¡± It would seem that he¡¯s regaining consciousness now that his wounds are healed. Having such grave wounds healed is gonna raise all sorts of suspicions, so I¡¯ll quickly move away from where he is. Fortunately, the only one who had a chance to pay attention over here was Haster it would seem. With an oblivious look on my face, I returned to his side, and he gave me an inconspicuous thumbs up. Ehehe¡­ ¡°Alright, we can win this!¡± ¡°Anyone injured, step back, and switch in once you¡¯re healed!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to attack with swords! Kill them with magic!¡± It would appear that with only two of them left, the prospects are leaning in our favor. At this point I just need to sit back and watch to make sure they don¡¯t make a comeback. ~*~ ¡°Hey, is Poulson really okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, aside from the bleeding, he didn¡¯t take any serious injuries. We won¡¯t have any trouble continuing our search now.¡± ¡°Thank goodness. I thought it might have been fatal.¡± It would have been fatal if left alone, though. After fighting back the trolls, we treated our injured and searched our surroundings. It would seem the first guy who got hit was called Poulson. He appeared to have no memory of me healing him, giving me a sense of relief. ¡°Sorry, Poulson. I got in a fight over leadership and neglected to check the area.¡± ¡°We got a little carried away too¡­ Sorry about that.¡± ¡°Naw, there¡¯s nothing you could have done about that surprise attack.¡± Naturally, since someone was injured, they couldn¡¯t very well get into a fight over being the boss, and came to a mutual reconciliation. ¡°And now, thanks to his noble sacrifice, the discord in the party was resolved, and turned into a beautiful harmony.¡± ¡°Uh hey, he¡¯s not dead y¡¯know.¡± Haster quips at my silly line. Relaxing in that manner for a while, the party members come over to us. ¡°Uhh, well¡­ Sorry, for treating you like kids. I never would have thought you would to be able to use such a rigid bow.¡± ¡°I guess we should have expected as much if Oreas counts on you. That war hammer¡¯s power just about made me piss myself!¡± ¡°And of course, its relieving to know that ¡°Wyvern Slayer¡± Oreas is just as skilled as they say.¡± Their judgment of us made a complete turnaround when we offed four of the trolls, all told. Mister Oreas defeated the last one after that, so our contribution rating rose dramatically. ¡°We didn¡¯t have any serious injuries, and we got to see the true strength of the rumored hero. Orcs¡¯ll be easy pickings at this rate!¡± ¡°Keep saying that and you¡¯ll let your guard down. Then we¡¯ll just get into another bit of trouble like before.¡± ¡°Oh, now that you mention it¡­¡± We decided to take turns getting breaks this time, leaving two parties on watch at any moment. This way we won¡¯t get surprise attacked. ¡°Agya¡ª!¡± Having just finished our meal, Yig came dancing through the air back down from his high altitude surveillance. What¡¯s he so excited about? He¡¯s fluttering his wings around, desperately trying to bring my attention to something. It¡¯s cute. ¡°You¡¯re so cute, Yig¡ª¡° In response to his behavior, I spontaneously tried petting his head and neck. But he was unusually opposed to it. Could it be something urgent? ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s trying to tell me something, but I don¡¯t speak dragon.¡± ¡°Could it be that he found the orcs?¡± Yig bobs his head in a nod. He has a good grasp on what we¡¯re saying; I¡¯m not sure if I should be glad about that, or frustrated by it¡­ Let¡¯s study dragon language next. ¡°Can you understand what Yig is saying, Haster? You figured out what he was saying?¡± ¡°I doubt there are many things he would come report to us in a hurry for in this situation. The most likely reason was that he found our objective.¡± Anyway, if we found their nest, then we¡¯ll have to communicate it. Let¡¯s go speak with the party leaders. ¡°That said, mister Oreas, please take care of it.¡± ¡°Why do I have to go and explain this?¡± ¡°Because I have a communication disorder.¡± ¡°Communication disorder?¡± ¡°Think of it as a fear of talking to people.¡± ¡°Oooh, I see¡­¡± In place of myself, who can¡¯t speak with people I¡¯m meeting for the first time, I asked mister Oreas to handle the explanation. They questioned Yig¡¯s information because they think he¡¯s a winged lizard, but due to their trust in mister Oreas, we headed toward what was apparently the orc nest. ~*~ In the deepest parts of the forest, in a broken and abandoned hunting lodge, they had gathered. Not even ten of the orcs could fit in the lodge, leaving the ones with lower standing to stay outside, by the looks of it. From inside came a dog-like cry¡­ It sounds something like language, so maybe they caught some type of animal race? Come to think of it, since they need ¡°females from other races¡± for ¡°breeding¡± purposes¡­ That¡¯s not limited to ¡°humans¡± in their options. ¡°Looks like they managed to catch a kobold or something and breed with it¡­¡± ¡°An abandoned hunting lodge, huh. With trolls taking up residence so close, it¡¯s no wonder it was abandoned.¡± We speak with the ones who came back from scouting the place. It¡¯s a breath of relief knowing that it wasn¡¯t a person caught in there. Right, I have to make my request now, or¡­ ¡°Excuse me, but I want to use an orc for an experiment, so I would like to let one live and capture it if possible?¡± ¡°Huh? How the hell would you use it?¡± ¡°Well, I guess that depends on what it¡¯s being used for¡­ I¡¯ve made all the preparations for when we get back, so please grant this request of mine.¡± Hiring the homosexuals wasn¡¯t exactly cheap, either. Moreover, they were giving a ¡°weird look¡± to Haster. He¡¯s in danger from behind. As such, I would like to finish this quickly, if we can. ¡°The guards aren¡¯t gonna look fondly on letting it into the city, but¡­¡± ¡°But for that, look, we¡¯ve got mister Oreas with us. And well, I have another connection too.¡± Though that connection is none other than myself. I have to make effective use of my title as sage sometimes. ¡°Well, in that case we¡¯ll help out, but¡­ Our highest priority is not letting them get away.¡± ¡°That makes perfect sense.¡± Since we know what they caught isn¡¯t a person, we have no interest in protecting it, so the ¡°burn all the orcs to the ground¡± opinion is probably going to win out. ¡°So anyway¡­ About our tactics for catching one¡­¡± For a short while, my various thoughts on how to capture and bring in one of the orcs began. Chapter 59: Research Materials Chapter 59: Research Materials Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations So I heard you like chapters of Yuuri. Here¡¯s another one for the week! There is an ironclad rule when exterminating orcs. It is a single, and very simple thing. Basically¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t let a single one get away¡±. In this world, orcs are seen as vermin to be hunted down. The proof of that is in the high mortality rate of orcs, and at the same time the high mortality rate is connected to their reproduction rate. Right now, before my eyes, because orcs can impregnate any female, a kobold is being treated as a seedbed. Which means if we let even one of them get away, then low order beast people, or even cattle, horses, and other livestock can be used for breeding by them. They¡¯ll use any female, increase their numbers, and then without even worrying about inbreeding they¡¯ll further increase their numbers¡­ They hardly worry about diversity as a species, or even the risk of deformities. They can use the same womb as many times as they want to increase their numbers. So to speak, they¡¯re clones that use the wombs of women. Hence, leaving even one of them will allow them to copy infinitely. To eliminate them requires that not one of them be left in the world at a time; it¡¯s necessary that they are annihilated without letting any leak by. Of course, that¡¯s impossible. Consequently, they¡¯re considered vermin that are impossible to exterminate. The hunting lodge before us is small, and since it¡¯s small, the lower ranking ones who couldn¡¯t get inside it are scattered around outside it. To keep from leaving a single one, we¡¯ll need to annihilate the surrounding ones. Fortunately, we have the personnel gathered for that purpose, but¡­ To be honest, we can¡¯t even leave a 1 in 10,000 chance. As such, I¡¯ve prepared alternative measures. The exact opposite of a siege battle; a pinpoint attack. With the enemy¡¯s formation and these battle tactics, there are certain to be ones who try to flee. Accordingly, while starting the battle, mister Oreas constructs [Clay Walls] to surround them on three sides. With [Clay Walls] exceeding five meters closing them in on three sides, they were caught in a dead end. This way their escape route has been physically cut off completely. ¡°Alright, CHAAAAAARGE!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, you bastards!¡± ¡°Kill ¡¯em all! Advance!¡± Each party leader cries out upon completion of the [Clay Walls], and twenty adventurers rush forward. The other adventurers entered the stage within the enclosure, and I stealthily reinforced the [Clay Walls] with [Toughness]. I could imagine that, considering mister Oreas¡¯ magic power, just surrounding them with the enclosure would leave problems in how solid it was. Naturally, if I were to reveal that I¡¯m a magician then I could openly use it, but I don¡¯t want to stand out too much. Haster seems to want me to be more well known for some reason, but personally I¡¯m fine with just living quietly together with him, so his desire is not progressing very much. ¡°SQUEEEEAL?!¡± ¡°Humans! Where from?!¡± ¡°Wall! Can¡¯t run!¡± Walls suddenly stood, and then adventurers rushed forward. The orcs fell into confusion seeing that, and without even being able to counterattack, they fluttered about every which way in a panic. The ones who normally should have given commands were the high ranking individuals who were endeavoring in their breeding inside the lodge, so the confusion was further accelerated. ¡°Alright, now¡¯s our chance! Don¡¯t let ¡¯em get away!¡± Of course, we¡¯re here to ensure that they indeed don¡¯t get out. The group rushing into the enclosure caused confusion in all directions, so anyone trying to leave the confines of it will have my bow or Haster¡¯s war hammer lay into them. Any orc trying to destroy the walls will have Yig assaulting them from the air, and without achieving their goal, they themselves will instead collapse to the ground. Though their strength and stamina surpass that of humans, when surprise attacked and confused, they couldn¡¯t even form an organized counteroffensive¡­ And they were easily suppressed. ~*~ Eventually the battle was over and, aside from a single orc, they were all wiped out. They remaining orc was restrained, and telling him, ¡°If you disobey us then we¡¯ll kill you, and if you try to run away we¡¯ll kill you too,¡± we dragged him along as we headed for the city. The orc was kept far away from the few female adventurers among us, and with a bow trained to his back, we prodded him along as we arrived back to town. At the city¡¯s entrance, just as we expected, the gatekeeper gave us a dirty look (of course), but upon passing mister Oreas¡¯ fame and a little something to sweeten the deal (bribe money) by him, he let us through without making a fuss. After knocking the orc unconscious and wrapping him in straw so he¡¯s not visible from outside, I went through the back alleys and brought him into a room in that certain place. I left the tasks of reporting our success and receiving our reward to Haster and mister Oreas, and watched over the orc along with the hired male prostitutes. Since I¡¯m a woman, I used a mask to make sure I don¡¯t inhale the odor. If their fluids are aphrodisiacs, then even the smell might be dangerous. I make certain the prostitutes will deal with me if I go completely bonkers. Since, you know, I¡¯d really rather not have an orc¡¯s child? Shortly thereafter, the orc awakens. ¡°Oi-oink?!¡± ¡°My oh my, you¡¯ve finally opened your eyes? Little orc.¡± Kukuku¡­ while suppressing laughter, I gently speak to the orc. I¡¯m feeling like a dark villain right now, and getting a high on that feeling. ¡°I feel kind of bad doing this as soon as you¡¯ve awoken, but¡­ I¡¯m going to have you do a little job for me.¡± ¡°What, this place? Let go!¡± ¡°That¡¯s something I can¡¯t discuss. And if I let you go, you¡¯d just run wild, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± To say nothing of this being in the middle of a city. There¡¯s no way I can¡¯t let him go free. ¡°Bitch¡­ What, intend do?¡± Orcs are basically part of a separate race known as beast people, so it¡¯s possible for them to speak the common language of this world. Though with the construction of their pharynx and their low intelligence, their speech tends to be rather broken. ¡°Your fluids are necessary for my research. If I complete this research, then sexual frigidity and infertility can both be solved at once¡­ Not that an orc would understand.¡± ¡°Bitch¡­ Going to, torture me?¡± ¡°Exactly, and I¡¯m glad you¡¯re quick on the uptake. Well heck, once I get what I need from you I might consider letting you go, you know?¡± Except ¡°what I need¡± is enough of an orc¡¯s excretions that it¡¯ll kill him. Of course I am at no obligation to tell him that. ¡°Kuh, just kill me!¡± Oooo¡ª, to hear that line from an orc¡­ Wow, being the villain feels good, huh? With a snap of my finger, the male prostitutes lined up along the wall come forward. ¡°My apologies, but despite how I may look, I am a woman. If I were to squeeze out your fluids, it would cause a slight problem. So I have hired these gentlemen to act as my proxies.¡± ¡°S-stop¡­¡± Fear and horror distort the orc¡¯s face. It¡¯s a rare sight in a sense. ¡°I have made a request of them to squeeze out your bodily fluids. Of course, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a big deal if they get some side benefits from it¡­?¡± ¡°Wait¡­ STOP?!¡± ¡°Well then, I don¡¯t have much time, so please hurry and get to work. I will be heading back to the waiting room.¡± ¡°U-UWAAAAAAAAA?!¡± While listening to the orc¡¯s screams, I moved to the waiting room. If I stayed there, then I would probably get turned on too. ~*~ The orc survived until the next morning. I would expect no less with its stamina. Dozens of liters of fluid was collected. I suppose it¡¯s satisfactory for research purposes. Haster worriedly peeked in to check on things part-way through but, well, the other room being how it was, he wore a weary expression as he departed. As far as I was concerned, a bit of the sexual excitement components were leaking into the room and slightly effecting me, so I would have been happy to go a round while he was here¡­ The next morning I paid all the prostitutes their compensation for their overnight work¡­ There was a strange glow about them, but let¡¯s not think too much about that. The acquired fluid was put in bottles, which were [Frozen] whole, and on top of that they were packed with cotton into boxes, and firmly secured. After all, if I just used it as it is, then what I¡¯ll be pregnant with is an orc¡¯s child. I¡¯ll be able to study how to extract its components in detail once we get back to the cottage. In any case, I¡¯ve accomplished my goal here. ¡°But really, an orc¡¯s fluid¡­ Won¡¯t you just go mad if you use something like that?¡± ¡°Its ovulation promoting agents and aphrodisiac effects are guaranteed though, you know? As long as I can accurately extract those components, of course.¡± While having breakfast with Haster in the air-conditioned cafe, we decide on our upcoming plans. They wouldn¡¯t like it very much if Yig entered a restaurant like this, so he¡¯s staying back at the inn with mister Oreas. ¡°I¡¯m one step closer to fulfilling my aspiration now.¡± ¡°Kids¡­ Huh.¡± His expression seems a bit complex. Does he¡­ Not want to have children? ¡°No, that¡¯s not it at all. I want to have kids too; I want you to give birth to my children. That¡¯s why I¡¯m working so hard every night.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t use such explicit terms.¡± Talking about birth and stuff, are you trying to make me turn red like this? ¡°But I want to keep having fun with just the two of us, without restraints, for a little while longer I think. Do you get that?¡± ¡°Of course I get it.¡± Yes, I understand plenty. I¡¯m the type who also considered how much I want to enjoy a life smeared in lust and laziness. Though my position in the equation is reversed from what I expected. ¡°This just means I¡¯ve obtained the materials. I still need to research it, and there¡¯s no actual guarantee it will work. Besides, it¡¯s a medicine, so we¡¯re free to choose when we want to use it. So we don¡¯t need to rush¡­ You see?¡± ¡°Really¡­ Yeah, I suppose so.¡± ¡°So when the time comes that you want children, be sure to tell me, okay? I promise I won¡¯t use it until then.¡± ¡°S-sure.¡± When it comes to children, it really is something for both of us to decide. Without both people being prepared and deciding, I¡¯ve heard of many times where making an ¡°oopsie¡± just doesn¡¯t go well. We¡¯ll have one when we both agree to it. To make that happen, I¡¯m going to have to modify these ingredients as quickly as I can, but¡­ It looks like I was going a little off track too. Well, I understand why¡­ I¡¯m actually still in a bit of an excited state. It really does have quite the effect. ¡°Alright, so after we say our goodbyes, shall we leave town sometime in the afternoon?¡± ¡°Eh? In the afternoon¡­?¡± ¡°Is that going to be a problem?¡± A huge one. If we leave on our trip, then mister Oreas and Yig are going to be continuously nearby. In other words, we can¡¯t do it. Leaving my excitement half-way and continuing the trip would be¡­ Is this how Haster always feels? ¡°Could we wait until tomorrow if possible? And um, hurry back to the inn¡­?¡± I fidget as I make my request¡­ My lower region is getting a bit warm¡­ No, hot really¡­ Really, this is¡­ That fluid¡¯s effect is worse than I imagined. After that, when we returned to the inn, an unusual situation happened; I was the one who pushed him down. ¡­ Orcs are scary. We ended up departing the next day. Chapter 60: The City of Cornus Chapter 60: The City of Cornus Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations And here¡¯s one more Yuuri chapter for the week! Expect the next one on Sunday as usual. ¡°Haster!¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the ocean!¡± ¡°So it is. We¡¯ll have to buy some swimsuits.¡± ¡°I want a cute one.¡± ¡°Er, you two know we came here to catch a thief, right?¡± It has been a week since then, and nothing happened along the way, allowing us to safely arrive at Cornus. We went through the entrance inspection, and the expanse before our eyes was a massive harbor, and a beach. ¡°Sea bathing¡­ That¡¯s something we can do too, isn¡¯t it?!¡± I gazed at the glistening ocean with equally glistening eyes. With a beach this large, forget a week, I probably wouldn¡¯t mind staying here for a long while. Anyway, we need to grab an inn, and immediately take in this coastal city! I urge mister Oreas along to guide us towards the inn they¡¯re lodging at. ¡°Oh my, Yuuri and Yig. Been a while, huh?¡± ¡°¡­ You seem well, miss Bella.¡± ¡°Agya!¡± When a voice called out as soon as we entered the inn, my excitement immediately dropped away. Oh right, she¡¯s here too. ¡°Hm? Did mister Haster not come along?¡± ¡°What do you¡­ Oooh, he couldn¡¯t win against his ¡°advancing age¡± and had to stay home.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s ¡°advancing in age¡±?!¡± He delivered a firm fist onto the top of my head. What did you expect me to do? It¡¯s annoying explaining that you¡¯re Haster. ¡°He¡¯s actually right here. He says he¡¯s using magic to disguise himself, since he¡¯s famous.¡± ¡°Yeah, been a while, Bella.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ A young boy?! I hadn¡¯t considered that possibility!¡± ¡°Miss Bella, please don¡¯t come any closer. This is mine.¡± ¡°Shaa!¡± Yig and I intimidate her as she draws near while drooling. Oh yeah, after the orc incident at Comb, accidentally going into heat and pushing him down, I¡¯ve gotten used to him in this form too. As such, my desire to show ownership of him is in full effect. I¡¯m not giving him to anyone. ¡°Aah, I¡¯m not gonna take him, so relax? I¡¯ve got someone I started going out with too.¡± ¡°Uuu¡± ¡°Speaking of, where is Bhav?¡± Miss Bella is at the inn¡¯s counter. For some reason, mister Kale and mister Jack are in the kitchen, washing dishes. It¡¯s true, I don¡¯t see Bhav anywhere, huh? ¡°Oh, he¡¯s out trying to solve what happened with the memories of the people who saw Livyatan¡¯s face when we caught her last time. It seems he¡¯s diligently working to see if he can stitch a likeness together with whatever information they have besides where their memory cuts off.¡± ¡°Collecting information on what happened is certainly important, but¡­ Doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯re getting anywhere with it.¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s highly probable that some [Memory Manipulation] is being used. Actually, if our enemy is a magician, then wouldn¡¯t it be more effective to stake out shops that deal in those sorts of items?¡± ¡°Oh, I see¡­ We¡¯ll have to look into those types of places. Leave it to good ol¡¯ Haster.¡± Obviously. He¡¯s a sage, after all. Of course I hold that title too, but I¡¯m less knowledgeable about the world¡­ ¡°More importantly Haster, let¡¯s hurry into the city to go sightsee-¡­ I mean, go on a preliminary inspection.¡± ¡°Just now, were you about to say sightseeing?¡± ¡°You¡¯re imagining things?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not as if this is the only area where the next crime could be, so sightseeing may as well be an inspection.¡± ¡°Hrm, mister Haster seems to have some kind of sweet atmosphere about him¡­¡± ¡°Ah, yeah, apparently they got married. Give them some congratulations.¡± ¡°¡­ Huh? Who and who did?¡± For a moment, an expression of trying to comprehend what was just said passed over miss Bella. Hmhmm, it¡¯s us, us! ¡°Sir Haster and Yuuri did.¡± ¡°Good heavens¡­ To think the sage was in to little girls?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not! I absolutely am not! I married her because she¡¯s Yuuri!¡± He shouts in denial. Unfortunately it¡¯s not very convincing. I dragged him along as he proudly refuted it, and we embarked on our sightseeing. ~*~ ¡°First we¡¯ll go to the beach to¡­¡± ¡°No we won¡¯t. Shouldn¡¯t we finish our job first?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ I guess so. Then shall we head to the knight order¡¯s headquarters?¡± ¡°Yeah, I suppose. Since this city has a knight order, I¡¯d like to hear what they have to say.¡± A damper was put on the sightseeing mood, but our first stroll through the city with just the two of us isn¡¯t so bad either. ¡°Agya!¡± ¡°Yes, of course, you¡¯re with us too, Yig.¡± Since he¡¯s been staying behind a lot lately, he seems to have become more intensely self-assertive, see? Even if it¡¯s not as much as in Solkalis, exuberance flowed from us as we walked through the streets. Along the way, someone in a stall recommended some accessories to me, but I¡¯ll have to control myself. Control¡ª ¡°Oh, these shell earrings are so cute.¡± ¡°Why not try them on?¡± ¡°May I, shopkeeper?¡± ¡°Sure ya can. Go right ahead an¡¯ have a look see.¡± ¡ªI couldn¡¯t control myself. I took a peep at the roadside street vendor, some small pink shell earrings caught my eye, and I ended up trying them on. They clinked and clanked at the bottom of my ears with a cooling ring, making the harsh sunlight feel a little gentler on me. ¡°What do you think? How does it look, Haster?¡± ¡°It looks mighty fine on ya, ¡¯cause ya¡¯lls cute, little miss.¡± ¡°Yeah, doesn¡¯t it look good?¡± Haster piggybacks on the shopkeeper¡¯s flattery. It suited my tastes, so I bought a set, and wrapped one of them around Yig¡¯s horn. ¡°Now we match, Yig.¡± ¡°Ugyu~¡± ¡°Well, ain¡¯t that cute. This little guy¡­ Ain¡¯t a winged lizard, huh. Don¡¯t got front legs, so could it be he¡¯s a wyvern?¡± ¡°Yes, due to some circumstances, a wyvern¡¯s child was put in our care.¡± ¡°Wyverns and the like that get familiar with people are so much wanted by them there knight orders that they¡¯ll be adroolin¡¯ over ¡¯em.¡± The shopkeeper unflinchingly strokes Yig¡¯s neck. Now that I notice, this shopkeeper is quite young too, huh? Is she even an adult? ¡°You look rather young; are you watching the store for someone?¡± ¡°Naw, this here be my shop. Look see, here¡¯s my store openin¡¯ permit.¡± ¡°Oh, my apologies.¡± A store opening permit is something that authorizes a shop to open within the city. In a city this large, there are plenty of dubious shops, and it¡¯s easy for them to cause trouble, so the government issues these permits as a measure that grants peace of mind to travelers out shopping. As proof that a business has the trust of the city, they¡¯re obligated to disclose their permit when opening a store. ¡°My apologies, you just looked so young that¡­ Eh, 16?¡± ¡°Sure am. Pretty awesome, huh.¡± I was surprised when I saw the age on the certificate. This girl only has a one year age difference from me? She¡¯s quite relaxed¡­ Actually, for a merchant, she gives off a carefree impression. Mister Elric, for example, hides a sly side within his mildness that calculates his interests, but¡­ She has the atmosphere of a cat sleeping in the sunlight. Thanks to that, I don¡¯t feel the slightest weariness of her. That probably draws in the customers though. ¡°Well, I underestimated you.¡± ¡°All good. Name¡¯s Levy. Usually I open shop right ¡¯round here, so come on back sometime.¡± ¡°Oh, my name¡¯s Haster. This is Yuuri. We¡¯ll come by again; would you mind giving us a discount when we do?¡± ¡°Ahaha, ya¡¯ll be the shrewd type. I¡¯ll be thinkin¡¯ ¡¯bout it.¡± She squints her eyes and her mouth takes on a ¡°w¡± shape as she replies with a smile to us. Her whole face is actually like a cat¡¯s. Just looking at her makes me feel warm and fluffy. I want to pet her. ¡°By the way¡­ I¡¯ve heard there¡¯s a robber calling herself a phantom thief breaking into places around here; is it safe for a girl like you to be opening shop?¡± ¡°Naw, that thief don¡¯t come ¡¯round these parts. ¡®sides, I ain¡¯t heard anythin¡¯ ¡¯bout the phantom thief hurtin¡¯ anyone, which really gives some peace of mind.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­ If anything happens, I¡¯ll do whatever I can, so feel free to contact me at the inn managed by the guild.¡± ¡°Eh? Ya look like a little boy, but yer an adventurer? That there¡¯s a surprise.¡± ¡°Mm, oh. Not me, but some people I know. We¡¯ll just get you in contact with them so they can help you.¡± ¡°Haw, can¡¯t say I approve of ya¡¯ll borrowin¡¯ someone else¡¯s authority at your age, y¡¯hear?¡± Miss Levy knits her eyebrows and her face seems to be saying, ¡°bad boy,¡± as she pokes his forehead. ¡­ Isn¡¯t she acting just a bit too friendly with him? ¡°That¡¯s not really what I mean¡­¡± ¡°Hmmmph!¡± ¡°Wh-hey¡­?¡± While he tries to continue the conversation, I pull on his sleeve with every ounce of strength I have. ¡°Hehe, looks like I made yer girlfriend jealous, so how¡¯s about we stop this here.¡± ¡°Y-yeah, sorry.¡± ¡°I am not jealous. We just have places to be.¡± ¡°Ah well¡­ Sorry fer keepin¡¯ ya¡¯ll.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you had such good merchandise. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Glad it suited yer fancies. I should have some new merchandise in stock tomorrow, so drop on by.¡± ¡°Yeah, later.¡± With a light wave of the hand, we parted from miss Levy. After walking for a bit, he made one of his rare complaints. ¡°Yuuri, I thought we¡¯d managed to get some info on the city, and yet¡­¡± ¡°But don¡¯t you think you might have been a little too friendly when getting it?¡± I puffed my cheeks out like a blow fish and replied with my own discontent. ¡°No, that was just small talk about the state of things in the city¡­¡± ¡°Hmph, by the way, the citizens don¡¯t seem very afraid of this phantom thief, do they?¡± ¡°Yeah, based on what Oreas told us there hasn¡¯t been much damage, so that may just be the case.¡± ¡°Ugyu¡ª!¡± Yig found a skewer stand, and brought my attention to it by pulling on my hair. ¡°Owowow¡­ That hurts, Yig. Yes, I get it already!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s almost noon; why don¡¯t we eat while we walk?¡± Saying so, Haster ordered ten skewers. Isn¡¯t that a little much? ¡°Four for me, and four for Yig.¡± ¡°Agya!¡± ¡°And two for me?¡± ¡°You gonna eat three?¡± ¡°No, I actually probably can¡¯t even eat two.¡± ¡°HAHAHA, my skewers are huge. You¡¯ll burst yer belly eating three of ¡¯em, don¡¯t you think, little lady?¡± The stall owner said that in good humor¡­ But they certainly are big. I take one of the grilled sausage skewers and immediately try biting down on it, but it¡¯s so thick it won¡¯t fit in my mouth. ¡°Munch¡­ Chew¡­¡± ¡°By the way, sir, I¡¯ve heard there¡¯s a phantom thief in this city¡­?¡± Haster is trying to gather information just like he did before. The result was the same as the last vendor. The klutzy phantom thief is actually something the citizens laugh about, and they¡¯ve grown oddly attached to her it would seem. ¡°Well, what she¡¯s doing is bad, of course. It¡¯s just with how she always messes things up, it¡¯s hard to hate her.¡± ¡°And besides, there have only been three incidents so far. There¡¯s no guarantee she¡¯s still in the city, huh?¡± ¡°Ooh, yeah. The next target could be in some other city, huh. That feels kinda sad in a way.¡± What¡¯s this about? Has she become one of the city¡¯s attractions already? With ten grilled skewers in hand, we courteously waved as we left the stall. After that we asked around at several more places, but the results were the same as before. They don¡¯t seem to feel there¡¯s any threat. ¡°Is there any real meaning in getting rid of her at this rate?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a request, after all. Besides, she may be harmless now, but that will probably change in the future.¡± While I eat the skewer in my right hand, I feed the skewer in my left hand to Yig, who¡¯s on my head. This kid has a bigger mouth than I do, so he¡¯s easily chowing down on it. While we ruminated on the stories of the non-threatening phantom thief, we came to the knight order¡¯s headquarters. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: We finally arrived at Cornus. It¡¯s already the 60th chapter¡­?! Chapter 61: Witness Interviews Chapter 61: Witness Interviews Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The Cornus Knight Order is the largest knight order in the Forneus Federation, the nation in the southern part of the Garm continent. Within the united city-states that make up the federation, they can travel across as many municipalities as they want, and nobody can complain. I suppose they could be considered something similar to a U.N. military? Of course each city probably has their own expectations of them. By the way, Mareba is considered a pioneering village affiliated with Cornus. Comb, being between the two, doesn¡¯t look too kindly on that. ¡°It¡¯s smaller than I expected¡­¡± ¡°Well, the most favored place of the knight order here is their school facilities. The knight school is of the largest scale in the south; it¡¯s designed to motivate students, and their main forces are established there.¡± ¡°The knight school¡­ That¡¯s where Alec went, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. I went there for a short while too. When I was a kid, my boss had his eye on me and told me to go to school, then tossed me into it.¡± ¡°Oooh, that¡­ Is something I want to see too!¡± ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s on the outskirts, so it¡¯s a ways away.¡± ¡°Ugh. Well, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have the opportunity to actually go eventually. We¡¯re ¡°immortal¡± after all.¡± We have plenty of time. To the extent that we¡¯ll have an excess even after Alec and Marle die of old age¡­ Thinking about that made me a little sad. Perhaps Haster noticed that I was feeling down, because he hugged my head close to him. ¡°Yes, we have time. Both of us together, always.¡± ¡°¡­ Yeah.¡± ¡°You two sure have guts to be flirting in front of the all-male knight dorms. Do you want us to have at your ass?¡± ¡°Y-you can¡¯t do that! His butt belongs to me!¡± ¡°Let me take care of my own butt.¡± They¡¯ll give us a pounding from behind if we let our guard down?! What a frightening place the knight order is! At some point a knight who¡¯s tall, bulky, has a crew cut, and is manly to the point where he even smells manly stood before us. ¡°Haster, it¡¯s dangerous here. Let¡¯s hurry and get out!¡± ¡°No, could you remember why we¡¯re here? Aah, sorry. My name¡¯s Haster and I¡¯m acting as mister Oreas¡¯ helper. We came here hoping to hear about the repeated phantom thief incidents.¡± ¡°Oh, that. Sure, I¡¯ll take you inside to wait. I¡¯ll call the related individuals.¡± Since Haster¡¯s in his boy form right now, he probably only trusts us because we used mister Oreas¡¯ name. Come to think of it, mister Oreas mentioned that having a sage join in the investigation would act as a deterrent. Is it okay that Haster¡¯s sticking to his child form? While we were sitting in the waiting room, I decided to ask about that. ¡°Yeah, we have to gather information and stuff, too. If we¡¯re formally moving, then my adult appearance would probably be best, but we planned on going out to town after this, right?¡± ¡°Oh, now that you mention it¡­ Then that form is for gathering information?¡± ¡°Yeah, I suppose. That and of course, I was thinking I wanted to walk around town with you in my natural form.¡± In other words¡­ He came here in this form for our date afterward? That¡¯s uhh¡­ Yeah¡­ Not a bad idea. I like his adult form too, but people are bound to look at us like we¡¯re father and daughter in that form, so this¡­ ¡®Desire to show off¡¯ kind of feeling wouldn¡¯t be fulfilled. ¡­ My personality has gone a bit rotten too. ¡°Anyway, our investigation takes priority right now. I wonder what kind of story is going to come popping out at us.¡± Not a moment later, three men came into the room. They¡¯re rather slender, but well-cut handsome men in their late teens or early twenties. Alec was the same way, but I wonder if this knight order has some sort of correction towards handsome men¡­? Oh, come to think of it, that wouldn¡¯t include the gatekeeper would it? Well, there should be some demand for his type in a different group of people. ¡°A pleasure to meet you. My name is Haster, and I¡¯m working as an assistant for mister Oreas. I truly appreciate you taking time out of your day for us.¡± ¡°Y-yeah. Wow, you¡¯re quite the proper boy. Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Atol. I was on site when she was captured. A pleasure.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Pele, and I took in the offender.¡± ¡°This petty officer¡¯s name is Byzak. ¡¯twas I who was guarding the prison.¡± ¡°Oh, I am Yuuri. I¡¯m his wi-¡­ His aide.¡± I almost told them I¡¯m his wife. Their suspicion of us would definitely switch to maximum, so I stopped. I am a woman who can read the atmosphere. ¡°She¡¯s my wife, so don¡¯t lay a hand on her.¡± And he blew my consideration to smithereens. ¡°S-such a young boy¡¯s wife, you say¡­?!¡± ¡°You mean to say you¡¯re getting it on with this beautiful girl every night?!¡± ¡°Go explode¡­ Just go right ahead and explode¡­¡± The knights made a sudden about-face, and I heard them muttering things full of hate!? Though we certainly do get it on every night. ¡°Wai-, what do you think you¡¯re doing, suddenly building an emotional blockade?!¡± ¡°No, I just¡­ I figured your appearance would be dangerous for these women-deprived knights, so I was drawing a line¡­¡± ¡°Geez! Think about the time and place a little!¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry about that. So about that phantom thief¡­¡± Perhaps because of the sudden switch to a serious topic, the knights tightened up their expressions, and responded in kind. I¡¯m getting thirsty, so I¡¯d like some tea or something, but¡­ They¡¯re not the most considerate of people. Are men really just like this? Yeah, I said that all haughtily, but I used to be a man too. I went to the coffee maker installed at the end of the room, made enough tea for everyone and distributed it. ¡°Oh, my apologies. That¡¯s something we should have been doing, and yet¡­ I suppose we¡¯ve gotten inconsiderate, being in all-male housing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is a woman¡¯s job, after all.¡± I responded with my most well-mannered smile. Well, I also used to¡­ No, it¡¯s a little late for that. The knights may have been feeling ashamed at their lack of consideration, seeing as they were blushing fiercely while hanging their heads. ¡°Ahem, Yuuri, that should be enough¡­ So?¡± ¡°R-right. I guess I¡¯ll start.¡± Mister Atol elected himself to go first. What he told us was a story about what happened after Livyatan had a rare success in stealing her target. While feeling fortunate that she stole the correct target, the knight order found her. Apparently their first pursuit succeeded. Within the darkness of night, relying on torchlight, they called ¡°Stop!¡± while pursuing her. It¡¯s a sight often seen in movies and anime, but Livyatan then turned around and replied, ¡°Nobody would stop just because you tell them to!¡± ¡­ Yeah, she turned around. Becoming inattentive to what was in front of her, she didn¡¯t notice the horse carriage flying out from the street corner, and she plowed magnificently into the frame of it. Thankfully there were no serious injuries, and she was restrained. When he called his companions and had them take her away, he suddenly realized something. He couldn¡¯t remember a single thing about her face. At the time, he didn¡¯t think it mattered by that point and let the matter be, but he didn¡¯t think for a moment that she would break out of prison. ¡°And there was no trace of her casting magic?¡± ¡°At the very least, I don¡¯t recall her activating any magic circles.¡± Does that mean it wasn¡¯t a spell she herself actively used¡­? An always-in-use type magic tool? But since they break without the ability to recharge them, always-active magic tools shouldn¡¯t be in wide-spread use. Anyway, let¡¯s hear what the next one has to say. ¡°Next is me, who took her in.¡± Mister Pele was apparently trying to corner her from a different direction, but when he heard his companion calling he ran over to the scene. Livyatan was already restrained when he got there, and he carried her off to the prison where she would be cooped up. That was because mister Atol had to stay and respond to the plight of the carriage that got into the accident. Unfortunately, the carriage belonged to a city official, and it got a big gash on it when Livyatan crashed into it. The repairs for it, and returning the stolen gem, were both cleanup duties that still remained. Mister Pele confirmed that the stolen jewel was in good hands, and got a good look at Livyatan before taking her in. She was tied up with rope, and he kept behind her cautiously, so he could respond to any suspicious actions by her, then handed her over to mister Byzak. And then, of course, when he returned from doing that, he realized that he couldn¡¯t remember what Livyatan looked like. While he was taking her in, he was constantly behind her, and she didn¡¯t have any opportunity to cast a spell. ¡°You¡¯re certain you don¡¯t remember her casting a spell?¡± ¡°That is so. When I first got a look at her and thereafter, I was always behind her standing a cautious watch, so in my humble opinion I believe it would have been impossible for her to cast anything.¡± ¡°Using a spell does require confirmation of the target, after all. In which case, maybe it really was an always-active spell?¡± ¡°If that is true, then it is extremely troubling. Even if we catch her, that means we won¡¯t be able to remember who she is.¡± And then last is mister Byzak¡¯s account. That night he was on prison guard duty, and when he took Livyatan in, he removed her armaments, locked her in the cell, and monitored her while sitting at the desk in front of the cell. Livyatan took no suspicious actions as the night passed, and when morning came near he felt sleepy, so he went to get a pot of coffee from the corner of the room¡­ And that¡¯s when he apparently realized she was no longer there. He leaped to the front of the cell in a panic, and took a good look inside, but she really was not there. Moreover, when he searched his memory, he could not remember the person¡¯s appearance. In confusion, he opened the cell and went in to seek any trace of the escape, but there was nothing. Still in a state of disorder, he reported to his superior, received a terrible reprimanding, and that¡¯s how we got to where we are now. ¡°That part, when you ¡®took your eyes off of her for a moment¡¯; about how long was that?¡± ¡°Let me see now¡­ At best I believe it was one or two minutes or thereabouts.¡± ¡°What if she used that time to open the lock and escape¡­?¡± ¡°Regardless of how adept, ¡®twould be impossible. ¡¯twas not only the cell, but also the monitoring room which remained under lock.¡± ¡°What state was the lock on the cell in?¡± ¡°It had remained locked.¡± ¡°¡­ Hmm?¡± If it was me, then I probably would have been able to escape while locked inside. That¡¯s if I had placed a [Teleport] spell of course. But even so¡­ ¡°The installation of always-active magic, [Teleport]¡­ Even though they¡¯re things Haster and I developed together in recent years¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, this means she may be a magic genius like us.¡± I develop the spell, and Haster puts it into practice. That combination skill we eventually attained together, but done by only one person? I can¡¯t believe it. Someone who could surpass his genius in magic would have to be a total cheat. ¡ªCheat? What if¡­ There were other reincarnated people besides me? No, if reincarnated people were just rolling around here like that, then this world¡¯s culture should have advanced more. I mean, they didn¡¯t even have air conditioning. Which means¡­ There must be some kind of trick to it I suppose? ¡°May we see the jail where she was imprisoned?¡± He must have reached the same conclusion as me. He wanted to see the jail too. Without a single unpleasant look, they guided us to the jail. And then we concluded that we couldn¡¯t find any trace of whatever trick was used. In the end, Livyatan¡¯s means of escape remained a mystery, and we ended up leaving the headquarters. Chapter 62: First Encounter Chapter 62: First Encounter Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Hiya! So, probably a little know tidbit: Kaburagi Haruka has a third story in the same world as Hakai Me no Yuuri and Half-Dragon Slave Life. It¡¯s called¡­ Well, rough translation: And I¡¯ve been binge-reading it lately. Probably going to translate it in the future, but if someone else wants to take a crack at it, I wouldn¡¯t complain ;D The author mentions that it¡¯s supposed to be written in a way that doesn¡¯t require knowing the previous stories to enjoy it. It has some major immediate Yuuri spoilers, but the only major Half-Dragon spoiler I noticed so far was from an author¡¯s note at the end of one of the chapters. Why am I mentioning this? I don¡¯t know. Excuses for not releasing faster. And just because rambling. Enjoy some Yuuri below! While the information gathering bore no fruit, the day turned to night. Tonight, along with getting used to the city at night, I decided to go on a watch. It¡¯s quite late; late enough that only the more amorous establishments are still open. To mix in with the darkness and avoid the eyes of others, I¡¯m wearing a black mini dress and my magic power supply mantle, dyed in the same color. My legs are equipped with black knee socks, so my whole body is swathed in a black outfit. On my head is a pointed hat, and my face is covered with a scarf, giving me a perfect set of equipment! Yig is flying beside me almost like he¡¯s a magical girl¡¯s mascot character. I¡¯m wearing a hat today, which is why he can¡¯t ride on my head. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s hot.¡± This is not an outfit to wear in the summer¡­ My sweat is in a constant drip. The mantle and scarf in particular were mistakes. They¡¯re trapping the heat and making it stuffy. My skin is exposed only on the upper half of my face (with glasses), and the absolute territory. It¡¯s less exposure than usual, but for some reason I sensed danger from Haster¡¯s gaze. I shouldn¡¯t have tried a different magical girl appearance from the usual¡­ He was about to rush straight into our nighttime warfare. As such, since I didn¡¯t know when Haster would begin his assault, I physically made him stay put. By wrapping him up in a rug. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s find a place where we¡¯ve got a good view of the city. Maybe somewhere higher up will be a bit cooler?¡± ¡°Agya!¡± A tall church for World Tree worship. I used [Flight] to run straight up to the top of its bell tower. While gripping the spear-like pointed roof, I bathe in the night breeze and have all my trapped heat¡ª ¡°¡ªNot blown away at all. What the heck is with this lukewarm wind?!¡± Come to think of it, this is a port city. In a city like this, the humidity and sea breeze are nothing to scoff at. The sticky, lukewarm breeze coils about as it blows past, further increasing my discomfort. ¡°I lived further inland in my previous life, so this is my first time experiencing this feeling.¡± ¡°Mugyu~¡± ¡°Yig, you can¡¯t blow cold breath or something, can you?¡± ¡°Ugyugyu!¡± He shakes his head in denial, as if telling me not to ask the impossible. This means I¡¯ll have to think up a costume with better ventilation. After entertaining myself through some light chit-chat with Yig, I began surveying the city. First, with my normal eyesight, I get a general overview of the city. The soldiers arrange torches at the street corners, so it¡¯s not like the city is in total darkness, but there sure are plenty of streets sunk in darkness, where it would be hard to catch sight of someone. Aside from the main road there are also a lot of complicated side roads, which means finding escape routes doesn¡¯t look like it would be a problem. ¡°From the perspective of the one running away, this city is probably built in a way that makes escaping easy.¡± Sound reverberated more loudly than I expected in the city at night, to the point where I could still hear the bustle from the red-light district. So noise travels this far, huh¡­ It would be hard to believe in the Japanese cities full of hustle and bustle. Next I cast [Far Sight], and view the street corners in detail. Most windows were closed, as might be expected at night, and there don¡¯t seem to be many prying eyes. Moreover, I didn¡¯t notice it in the afternoon, but this city is constructed with more ups and downs than I expected, creating many blind spots. ¡°Hmmm, if chasing after someone here, the one doing the chasing is at a real disadvantage. Yig, it looks like your sky surveillance will be necessary for our success.¡± ¡°Agya!¡± Yig puffs out his chest as if saying leave it to him. While flying, at that. How many tricks is this kid going to have? Anyway, work comes first. I take out a map of the city I bought this afternoon, and roughly mark down the blind spots and dark areas. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re so enthusiastic in your work, little lady.¡± Startled by the sudden voice from behind me, I let my notes fall. ¡ªI¡¯m on top of the bell tower, and yet someone¡¯s behind me?! When I turned around, a woman was standing there in midair. Her age was maybe about 14 or 15, like me? Er, could we please look past my outward appearance? At first glance she had a charming appearance I think, with black clothing that suited her body perfectly. Yeah¡­ That is very much what I ¡°think¡± I saw. She is very clearly right in front of me. And yet I can¡¯t get a grasp on her face. I can¡¯t read her expression. ¡°An always-active [Recognition Blocking] spell, is it? Phantom thief Livyatan.¡± ¡°Close, but unfortunately not quite.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not? Then are you actively using it? Is it a sustained long-lasting effect type?¡± ¡°Wrong again. The answer is¡­ I don¡¯t wanna tell you. More importantly, that little guy. He¡¯s a bit scary; could you have him back off?¡± In response to the unknown factor that suddenly appeared, Yig took an alert stance, and is now ready to fire off a breath at any time. I don¡¯t mind if he attacks right now, but¡­ I¡¯m interested in this magic that¡¯s neither sustained, nor always-activated. I would like to talk a bit more. ¡°Yig, hold back for now. There are things I want to hear from her.¡± ¡°Shagya¡± Responding to my intentions, Yig relaxes his breath preparation stance. In its stead, he jumps into my chest, and holds on to me. If it comes down to it, he¡¯ll act as my shield; that¡¯s probably what he¡¯s saying. He¡¯s a brave child. ¡°First of all, I suppose I should say nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Hm? Oh right, I guess so. Nice to meet you, Yuuri.¡± Wha¡ªshe knows my name? Where? From who? ¡°Looks like I don¡¯t need to introduce myself. Who did you hear about me from?¡± ¡°You sure have a lot of questions. But well, I guess that¡¯s a secret too? Right, like I¡¯m protecting my source¡¯s privacy I guess you could say.¡± I send a glare of suspicion towards her. Of course, this glare is a fake. While pretending to send my exasperation through my gaze, I use ¡°Appraisal¡±. ¡ªName: Livyatan Age:16 Gender: Female Job: Phantom Thief Gifts: Recognition Blocking (Can be disabled), Peerless Magic (Can be disabled), Trap Disabling She¡¯s a gift holder! And she has three. Moreover she has the same ¡°Peerless Magic¡± as I have? But really¡­ I see, so the ¡°Recognition Blocking¡± wasn¡¯t from magic, but a gift¡¯s effect? I suppose that solves one mystery. Even so, though she¡¯s a phantom thief, she doesn¡¯t seem to have concealment or something of the sort. ¡°You surprised me by coming to meet me personally. What business might you have?¡± ¡°Right. I¡¯m passing this to you.¡± She took a single sealed letter from her pocket, and threw it to me. I received it with unsteady hands, and checked the contents¡ª ¡°Yig is going to be your¡­¡± ¡°Yes. He is my next trophy! A wyvern¡¯s child is super rare!¡± ¡°He¡¯s my family. I¡¯m never handing him over to you!¡± ¡°Everyone says that. But you can¡¯t run from my clutches.¡± To think she would steal Yig¡­ I¡¯m not letting that happen! ¡°I won¡¯t let you¡­ Ever.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m just giving you advance notice today. The real fun is in one week. You should probably make some good memories while you can.¡± ¡°If I catch you now, then there won¡¯t be a next week for you, will there?¡± ¡°Hmmm, that¡¯s pretty scary. Yup, too scary; I¡¯ll run for today!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you get away!¡± I deploy a magic circle instantaneously. I jump towards the currently in [Flight] Livyatan. Instead of dodging, she canceled [Flight], and fled toward the ground. ¡°You¡­!¡± I draw Third Eye from my waist. While maintaining [Flight], I activate [Body Reinforcement] and begin bombarding from the sky. Brutal explosive sounds burst from each impact as I made several craters in the ground. ¡ªIf I hit her, she¡¯ll die? I don¡¯t give a damn! Anyone who would lay a hand of my family should go ahead and die! ¡°UuhHyahAaWAAaah?! You¡¯re way too merciless!¡± Livyatan made strange cries while dodging the arrows. Using that opening, I also got close to the ground and began the chase. She ran down the stairs, which continued on from the higher elevation, as if she was running on flat land; she didn¡¯t look anything like a klutzy phantom thief. If it was me, I would undoubtedly fall and tumble down them, so without releasing [Flight], I continued my pursuit at a low altitude. In addition, since I know her next target is Yig, letting him out of my sight would be dangerous, so I had him stick to my back. ¡°Hold still and let me hit you!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll die if one of those hit me though?!¡± She continues running as she turns around this way. Does she have a habit of turning around when she¡¯s called out to? But really, she¡¯s unbelievably quick on her feet. She¡¯s the field athletics type. Speed-wise I¡¯m faster, but I¡¯m using [Flight] to avoid tripping, so I can¡¯t make any sharp turns. While running left and right in evasive maneuvers, Livyatan rushes into an alley. ¡ªTh-that¡¯s¡­! Ahead of where she¡¯s running I notice ¡°a certain something,¡± and call out to her. It¡¯s a bit clich¨¦, but if she¡¯s clumsy, then she¡¯ll probably fall for it. ¡°Livyatan, I¡¯m telling you to stop!¡± ¡°Not a single villain would stop when told to~¡± Sure enough, she turned around in response to my call¡­ ¡°Eh? HYAWAaaaaaa¡ª?!¡± Sure enough, she fell into the open lidded gutter. She really is an idiot. Reacting to her extreme idiocy, I stopped thinking for a moment. I landed to apprehend her, and in that moment¡ª I slipped on some garbage that was on the ground, and magnificently toppled over¡­ Onto the back of my head. Gigantic stars scattered before my eyes. My vision turned pure white, and then my consciousness went to total blackness. ~*~ When I came to, Livyatan was nowhere to be found. The damaged back of my head had bandages wrapped around it for some reason, and the fact that she gave me proper first aid¡­ Made me hate her even more! Damn yoooou! ~*~ ¡°Oh, Yuuri. Welcome back.¡± ¡°Glad to be back, Haster.¡± I respond to his greeting while he¡¯s still wrapped up on the bed, and enter into the room. The bandages would worry him, so I removed them. ¡°How did the city look?¡± ¡°I got a general look at it. There was a problem though.¡± ¡°Problem? Did something happen?¡± ¡°Livyatan appeared. She says Yig is the next target.¡± I threw the letter I received from her onto the table, and removed my mantle and scarf. There¡¯s a quickly made ¡°Air conditioner¡± I installed in the room, so it¡¯s very cool. ¡°Hey, I hope you didn¡¯t do anything dangerous!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. I did make a short chase though¡­¡± ¡°As long as you¡¯re fine¡­ So, what were the results?¡± ¡°Ugh, let¡¯s just call it a draw.¡± ¡°If she got away, then wouldn¡¯t that be a loss?¡± I neutralized her! I just made a mistake in dealing with her afterward. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it. I¡¯m taking a bath; I sweat way too much.¡± ¡°Hey, could you undo this?¡± ¡°No can do. You turn into a wild animal at bath time. You can just be my body pillow tonight.¡± ¡°Aw come on, you¡¯re torturing me here!¡± ¡°Restraining yourself sometimes is good for the body you know?¡± ¡°I have never heard that.¡± Well, I¡¯ll talk about it in detail with mister Oreas included in the discussion, and that can wait until tomorrow. My mind is filled with anger right now, so I can¡¯t make any calm decisions. And so, when I got out of the bath, I used Haster as a body pillow to soothe myself as much as I needed, and fell asleep. At dawn, his patience reached its limit, he ripped apart the ropes with [Body Reinforcement], and it goes without saying that he turned into a complete beast. Chapter 63: Begin Preparations Chapter 63: Begin Preparations Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Quick notice: There is now a donation button through ¡°Buy Me A Coffee¡± on the right sidebar. If you have a few extra dollars, please consider donating! I¡¯ve also tossed some unobtrusive ads over there, so if you¡¯re interested in anything you see, I encourage you to check it out! Either way, your support is appreciated! Okay, enough of that. Your Yuuri chapter is below! The next day, by the time I got out of that sticky and slippery situation, it was already past noon. With the three-stage magic Bahamut used before; [Purify], [Evaporate], and [Ventilate]; I cleaned the room (sorry, inn workers), and after inconspicuously taking a bath and changing, I headed towards the dining hall. Mister Jack and mister Kale, who already managed to escape their forced labor, as well as mister Bhav and miss Bella, who finished some patrolling, were already in the dining hall waiting. Mister Oreas and Haster were also there drinking. Why are they drinking? Come to think of it, Yig disappeared from our room at some point last night. He was probably being considerate of us around the time Haster started going out of control. ¡°Yo, awful late, young lady!¡± ¡°Long time no see, Yuuri. Sorry I couldn¡¯t greet you yesterday.¡± ¡°I heard you wanted to talk about something, but you sure took a while getting here.¡± ¡°It takes time for a woman to put her appearance in order, Bhav.¡± ¡°We went ahead and bummed a drink from you guys, Yuuri.¡± ¡°I¡¯d heard coastal cities had good drinks, but it really is true. You should try a cup too, Yuuri.¡± ¡°Agya!¡± ¡°¡­ Good morning, everyone.¡± While I sent them all a somewhat reproachful look, each of them called out to me. When I took a seat while holding my pained waist, miss Bella showed concern for me. ¡°Are you okay? You seem like you¡¯re in pain¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, this happens every morning, so I¡¯m used to it.¡± ¡°Haster is merciless too, huh. You need to take better care of her.¡± ¡°Yeah, uhh¡­ Sorry.¡± Miss Bella and the others already know that I¡¯m an adult, so they don¡¯t seem to blame him or anything. They did point out his lack of consideration though. ¡°B-but Yuuri is at fault too. She slept naked while using me in place of a body pillow. Of course I lost control.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Yuuri?¡± ¡°¡­ Uhh.¡± ¡°That¡¯s getting your just desserts, seriously!¡± ¡°Eh?, you seem energetic enough though, huh miss Bella?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because Bhav takes proper care of me.¡± Miss Bella easily speaks fondly of her partner. She holds her hands to her cheeks in a very maidenly manner. Mister Bhav doesn¡¯t seem to be able to keep calm seeing her like that¡­ I¡¯m not quite sure which one of them could be considered an adult here. And watching those two, mister Jack and mister Kale gulp down their drinks. It looks like they have an ¡°oh god, make them stop!¡± atmosphere about them. But we can¡¯t have this. The conversation kind of seems like it¡¯s pointed over here, so let¡¯s change the subject. In fact, we seriously need to get down to the main topic. ¡°Ummm, about what happened when I went out on patrol last night¡­¡± I conveyed what happened last night with Livyatan, without sparing any details. They sent me tepid looks when they heard the details of our game of tag, but I ignored them. ¡°This guy is the next target?¡± ¡°She made such a fucking cheeky declaration. I¡¯m going to absolutely destroy her.¡± ¡°Well, sure he¡¯s rare, but¡­ What good does getting hold of ¡°this thing¡± do?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call my boy ¡°this thing¡±!¡± Yig is a very good kid. He¡¯s considerate, he¡¯s serious, and he thinks fondly of his parent(me)! ¡°But even if she¡¯s clumsy, we can¡¯t underestimate her as an opponent you know? At the very least, she has the same ability as I do.¡± ¡°¡°Peerless Magic,¡± huh¡­?¡± The ability to understand most magic with a single glance at the formula, and reproduce anything within the limits of one¡¯s magic power, if used correctly. It¡¯s a gift that gives its owner those kinds of abilities. One of its faults is that it forces all growth into magic specialization, but it looks like she managed to disable it too; she can probably use it effectively and freely to some extent. ¡°Furthermore, unlike me, her physical abilities were quite high. She had enough agility to get away from me while I was using [Flight].¡± ¡°In that case, catching her head-on would be difficult.¡± ¡°However, we won¡¯t know what she looks like if we stand watch for her either¡­ To think it was a ¡°Recognition Blocking¡± gift¡­¡± ¡°What the hell. How are we supposed to catch her?¡± Mister Bhav, mister Oreas, and miss Bella all soon seemed to realized how bothersome our opponent is. ¡°Come on, when she comes to steal this guy, we just gotta go BLAM and send her flying.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, we just smash anything annoying down by force, right?¡± ¡­ So these two aren¡¯t going to be any help. Why were you all so distressed in the first place? You should have profited considerably from back when we took care of those robbers. ¡°Oh, about that¡­ You know those two put on that display every day? We¡¯ve been drinking our cares away because of it.¡± Saying that, he points towards mister Bhav and miss Bella. Even in the middle of this meeting, the two are snuggled up and seemingly arguing about one thing or another, but¡­ Their hands are firmly clasped together. ¡°Goddammit. Go explode, you two!¡± ¡°You¡¯re one to talk.¡± Do you have some problem with me? I¡¯m just sitting on Haster¡¯s lap. By the way, my own lap is occupied by Yig. I sometimes feed him his breakfast myself. The table is small, and there aren¡¯t enough chairs. So it had to be this way. It had to be this way, so¡­ Haster, calm down that hard thing under my butt. ¡°To be honest, she¡¯s an opponent that would make fools of us if we faced her directly. Is setting a trap to capture her our best chance?¡± ¡°But she had the ¡°Trap Disabling¡± talent, you know? She would probably break through an amateur¡¯s trap in a heartbeat.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a very Yuuri-like thing to say; you¡¯re trying to go at her gift much too honestly.¡± ¡°Come again?¡± ¡°Her gift is ¡°Trap Disabling,¡± not ¡°Trap Discovery,¡± right?¡± ¡°¡­ Ooh, I see.¡± Right¡­ Her ability will certainly allow her to get past any kind of trap. However, it¡¯s not a gift that allows her to know ¡°the location¡± of the trap. ¡°Humm¡­ In any case, we have to get any countermeasures put together by next week.¡± ¡°Yup. The first thing would be self-defense I guess? Let¡¯s set all sorts of things up on Yig.¡± For now we¡¯ll set a trap. We decided to put our counter-plan efforts in that direction. ~*~ First I¡¯ll have to put a lost pet tag on Yig. If we know where he is, then even if he gets taken, we can head over immediately to get him back. I can develop a magic spell that would act like a transmitter, but to do that I first need to prepare a base item to cast it on. That¡¯s when I thought of using the cute earring from yesterday, but it¡¯s just made of shell after all. The strength of its material really did become a problem. ¡°Ugh, it has to be at least made of iron or something, or it won¡¯t be able to bear it.¡± ¡°Then how about we go shopping? I¡¯m just about out of ¡°Rings of Mental Resistance¡± too. At this rate, my life could be in danger tonight.¡± ¡°Could you maybe control yourself?!¡± The terrible scene from when he turned ¡°Immortal¡± and ¡°Eternally Youthful¡± came to mind. I¡¯m glad he loves me, but I¡¯d rather he not risk his life over it. I don¡¯t want to see that kind of thing again. ¡°Come on, my resistance increased when I became immortal, so if it¡¯s just a few hours then I¡¯m sure I can manage even without the ring¡­¡± ¡°Absolutely not! I will completely resist until we get new rings.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t actually plan on being so reckless either.¡± And so we decided to go out shopping. Haster to buy silver rings (carved), and myself to buy a collar or something of the sort for Yig. If we¡¯re gonna get one, then I would like the design to be cute, so we headed for the street vendor lady from yesterday¡¯s place. It¡¯s the early afternoon, when the sunlight is at its strongest. After deciding on a white sleeveless dress to give myself the looks of a young lady from a good family, I once again went out to town with him. Since the sunlight is so strong, I borrowed a lace parasol from miss Bella too. Now that I think about it, we considered going swimming in the sea when we first got here, didn¡¯t we. Maybe we should go looking for swimsuits too? ¡°Haster and I are both fair skinned too. It might be nice to get a healthy tan while we¡¯re at it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t tan, do you?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t actually heal immediately. ¡°Golden Ratio¡± basically increases in healing power based on how heavy the injury is.¡± If it¡¯s broken bones, dislocations, or missing parts, then it¡¯ll heal in just tens of seconds, but if it¡¯s just a scratch, then it could take half a day. Additionally, if it¡¯s an injury that doesn¡¯t influence my appearance, then it might not heal at all. Yeah, uhh¡­ Like doing this or that¡­ I¡¯m glad that doesn¡¯t heal. Because I would rather not experience being deflowered every time. ¡°But well¡­ A swimsuit, huh¡­ Yeah, I can¡¯t wait.¡± ¡°I thought you were being completely indifferent when I was dressing up just a while ago though¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s because when the girl I live with pretties herself up, it makes for a lot of difficulties, see? I was holding myself back pretty hard at the time.¡± And now that there¡¯s no need to hold himself back, he¡¯s started letting loose, huh. While we continued chatting, we arrived at miss Levy¡¯s stand. ¡°Hello, we¡¯re back for more.¡± ¡°Welcome, Yuuri. Glad ya¡¯ll came again.¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re in the city, I would like to get a collar for this guy. Do you happen to have anything good for that?¡± He does basically listen to what I say, but ¡°publicly¡± he¡¯s seen as a monster known as a winged lizard. They¡¯re a creature also used as food, so to keep him from getting wrapped up in any trouble it¡¯s probably best to put a collar that declares my ownership on him. ¡°In that case, how ¡¯bout somethin¡¯ like this? It¡¯s a collar made from komodo drake leather.¡± Komodo drakes are large lizards that inhabit the mouths of rivers and the like. Going by Earth¡¯s standards, they look kind of like small crocodiles. Their skin is quite flexible and tough, so it can be used for leather armor too. The skin on their backs is especially lustrous, and shines with a nice color when processed, so it¡¯s used for high class bags and shoes too. ¡°This here was supposed to be used as a bracelet, but it¡¯d be the perfect size if ya¡¯ll wants to fit it ¡¯round his neck.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ A bracelet?¡± ¡°What, ain¡¯t your thing?¡± I don¡¯t exactly have good memories of bracelets. Since I got tangled up in that guy¡¯s suicide because of one. Speaking of, I was thinking of giving that bracelet to my little sister as a souvenir¡­ ¡°No, I¡¯ll take it. Maybe this is some kind of fate.¡± In place of the bracelet I couldn¡¯t give to my sister, I¡¯ll give this one to Yig. Something like that might be nice too, huh? With a slightly solemn feeling, I pay the money for it. ¡°Huh? This bracelet has a jewel set in it?¡± ¡°¡¯cause it¡¯s supposed to be a bracelet. Accessories are like that; don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°No, this is actually good¡­ Is it jade?¡± ¡°Yep, jade. Ain¡¯t a particularly pricy one though.¡± The number of enchantments that can be put on jade is four, just like silver. [Signal], [Toughness], another spell for refilling, and then¡­ I can enchant one more thing on it. ¡°Hum, what should I choose¡­¡± ¡°Eh? Ya¡¯ll are gonna buy more?¡± ¡°Oh, no. That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± ¡°Then do you happen to have any silver rings? Ones made through carving would be best if possible.¡± Haster decided to interrupt just then. Because that¡¯s his objective here. But would a street vendor like this have something like silver products? If she had them just lying around, they would be way too unprotected, wouldn¡¯t they? ¡°Aah, had a few sittin¡¯ round here. Let me see now¡­¡± It would seem she did have them. This girl is mostly defenseless anyway¡­ She took out six simple rings. They¡¯re silver products, but since they¡¯re not elaborate their price is quite reasonable. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take all of them.¡± ¡°All?!¡± ¡°Also, if you get any more like these, could you set them aside for me? I¡¯ll buy up to a hundred of them.¡± ¡°Those gonna be a present for yer girlfriend?¡± ¡°Ohh¡­ Right, might you have anything nice for Yuuri too?¡± Haster, are you trying to show off your good side? By the way, miss Levy¡­ Why did you recommend a large dog collar for me? Are you a person with some very special tastes? I glared at her as if I wanted to spend nearly an hour cross-examining her. And Haster, please stop your panting. Continuing in this way, we spent the whole day just going out shopping. Furthermore, we made certain to go and buy swimsuits. Once this case is all cleared up, I¡¯ll put my bewitching looks on display for him at the beach¡­ Even though I¡¯m flat. Chapter 64: Magic Materials Chapter 64: Magic Materials Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: The story will continue with their preparations a little bit more. --------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, it¡¯s night time! Perhaps in response to the scolding he received from miss Bella, Haster is behaving himself tonight. Let¡¯s take this opportunity to make Yig¡¯s equipment! First is the leather collar, but since it had a jade ornament on it, I can go ahead and [Enchant] that gem. Jade has four enchant slots. In those I¡¯ll put [Signal], which continuously gives off a weak bit of magic power, and [Toughness] to keep it from breaking. Furthermore, I¡¯ll add [Maintained] to extend the transmission time, and then put [Strength] in there as the incomplete part. ¡°But this is really small¡­ It¡¯s kinda tough¡­ with my abilities¡ªyeowch?!¡± Carving in the magic circle is difficult because of how tiny the attached jewel is. I ended up cutting my finger. If it was just a little bigger, then I could [Burn] it in like usual¡­ ¡°Yuuri, did you hurt yourself?¡± ¡°Yeah, a bit. But it will heal soon.¡± ¡°Telling me to leave it alone because ¡°Golden Ratio¡± will heal it is a little worrying to me as a man though.¡± Saying that, he took my injured finger and clamped down on it with his mouth. Awawawa, my finger, in his mouth! It¡¯s getting all tangled up with his tongue, and feels a little g¡­ Makes me feel strange¡­ Ha?! ¡°I-it¡¯s fine now, so I¡¯ll get back to work!¡± It feels surprisingly good to have my finger licked. I¡¯ll try it too next time. Anyway, there¡¯s work to do. Focus. ¡°You¡¯re carving it onto here? What are you planning to carve?¡± ¡°[Signal], [Toughness], [Maintained], and an incomplete [Strength].¡± Since I¡¯m trying to carve four combined magic circles into a small Jade surface that¡¯s not even one centimeter, of course it would be tough. Especially for me, since I¡¯m clumsy. ¡°Those are all spell patterns that I know, so I¡¯ll handle it. You can go take care of some other work while I¡¯m at it.¡± ¡°Just what I would expect of my master. You¡¯re so reliable ¡®when you¡¯re being serious¡¯.¡± ¡°That last part was unnecessary.¡± He¡¯s more than dexterous enough to handle something this size. I can take care of adding the magic power to it later. I¡¯ll start on creating a different item. ¡°Right, maybe I should carve something into this earring too. What do you think, Yig?¡± ¡°Ugyu?¡± ¡°¡­ Hurry and get bigger so you can let me ride you, okay?¡± Not knowing about magic spells, he tilts his head while I hug him and consider the contents of the [Enchantment]. Since the pink shell earring is extremely fragile, it¡¯s not exactly suited to be a magic tool. Maybe if I wrap a belt around his horn, and then decorate it as a necklace¡­ But then there¡¯s no real point in enchanting the earring, is there? ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± I guess turning it into a magic tool would be impossible. Which means I could find some other way to use it, but¡­ Shell¡­ Calcium carbonate¡­ Was it hydrochloric acid that reacted with it? ¡°¡­ Yep, that¡¯s a no go. I don¡¯t have much of a background in science; I can¡¯t think of any effective way to use it. Save me, MacGyver!¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the name of a Hero from back when I was a child. He¡¯s an amazing person who could get into anywhere with a single knife, and do what he needed to do there using only what was at the scene.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing. I¡¯d like to meet him sometime.¡± ¡°That¡¯s absolutely impossible.¡± ¡°Why¡­?¡± Because the person is an American. Now, more importantly, about the next product¡­ I may have an idea. ¡°Yig, can you mold magic power?¡± ¡°Uyu?¡± ¡°Like¡­ Go hnnnn, and then work it around like whooom, and then release it like Myomyooon.¡± ¡°¡­ Even I didn¡¯t understand that.¡± It¡¯s hard to explain because it¡¯s more of a feeling thing. But, hmmm¡­ I thought about it looking at mister Oreas¡¯ dragon claw staff, but¡­ ¡°We have live materials here, so would ¡°turning claws into magic tools¡± be impossible as they are?¡± ¡°Turning claws into magic tools as they are?¡± ¡°Yeah, claws don¡¯t have nerves running through them, and they¡¯re excellent magic materials, so I was wondering if I could use them as is.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ Never thought of that. Except claws grow, so wouldn¡¯t it be difficult to turn them into any lasting magic tool?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as it lasts for a week.¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± Let¡¯s see¡­ First I¡¯ll test it on my own nails. I¡¯ve learned from that time with Haster. I won¡¯t repeat the same mistake again. ¡°Burn the [Light Orb] formula shallowly into my nail, and¡­ Ah, it healed already?!¡± ¡°Golden Ratio¡± started healing as soon as the burn went on. It won¡¯t even bother with scratches, but it fixes the shape of my nails in an instant¡­ Is it placing different importance depending on the part? ¡°Let¡¯s try it on my nail. Yuuri, put the formula on for me.¡± ¡°Okay. Then we¡¯ll go with [Light Orb], since it won¡¯t make a mess of the room.¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± I create the shape of the magic circle with a weak flame, and carve the formula into his nail. Normally I would add magic power to it afterward, but I¡¯m carving it into his body, which already has magic power. There¡¯s probably no real need to add any to it. ¡°All done. The command words are ¡°O light¡±.¡± ¡°Got it. Then here goes¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I wonder if it¡¯ll explode?¡± ¡°Hey, now you say that?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m joking. Besides, even if it did explode, it would just be the tip of your finger. It would heal right up for you.¡± ¡°Are you serious¡­?¡± After sending me a doubtful look, he stretched his finger straight forward and chanted the command words. ¡°O light¡± The magic circle immediately deployed in response to the command word, and a [Light Orb] was released directly in front of him. ¡­ In other words, directly in from of my eyes. ¡°NUWAAAH! My eyes! MY EEEEYES!¡± The deployed [Light Orb] released at his maximum magic power, and my eyes were burned like a certain colonel¡¯s. My sight was dyed pure white, I fell out of my chair and rolled on the floor while suppressing my agony. ¡°Oh, whoops.¡± ¡°Whoops doesn¡¯t really cover it! I thought I was gonna go blind!¡± Rising from the floor, I point directly at him and reveal my anger. ¡°Ugyu?¡± ¡°Yuuri, that¡¯s Yig.¡± ¡°Ooh, sorry Yig. I can¡¯t see yet.¡± After a short while my sight finally returned, and I looked to verify the results. ¡°Haster, are you hurt anywhere?¡± ¡°Nope. Actually you¡¯re the one who took the brunt of it.¡± ¡°How is your magic power consumption?¡± ¡°It looks like it used all of it in one [Light Ball] use. It doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯ll be able to do any fine adjustments like this.¡± This is¡­ Actually kind of amazing, isn¡¯t it? Because all that needs done is to mold magic power and activate it with the command word, and whatever spell is etched into the body will activate on its own. Even though the power output can¡¯t be adjusted, it¡¯s perfectly fine for emergency use. ¡°Hrm¡­¡± ¡°Hm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just¡­ A long time ago there were certainly people who had magic circles tattooed into their skin, but¡­¡± ¡°So it really is an idea that anyone would think of.¡± ¡°They couldn¡¯t send out this much power with it though, you know?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Could it be a difference in the ability of the user? Or maybe a difference in the part used as a catalyst? I confirmed that nails and claws are suited towards magic catalysts when I made mister Oreas¡¯ staff. Perhaps skin has low value as a catalyst or something? ¡°I guess we should test this on mister Oreas¡¯ nail¡­?¡± The results of calling him over and experimenting revealed that he didn¡¯t have as much power output as Haster. This pointed towards the difference in the ability of the user theory. ¡°But still, carving a spell into your nail¡­? I had no idea that could be done.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just how Yuuri thinks. Since she doesn¡¯t have common sense like our unwise selves, she shows sudden rhythms of progress to us.¡± ¡°My power output was apparently weak, but there are still ways to use this.¡± Mister Oreas remained in the room and began discussing the effective use of this with Haster. Get the hell out of here already. ¡°If my power output was at your level, then it would be plenty powerful for a fight.¡± ¡°You could use it to blind opponents.¡± ¡°Mine can¡¯t take it that far though¡­ If it¡¯s a magic spell that deals in mass quantities, it may be effective.¡± ¡°Like [Water Bolt] or [Fireball]? Those certainly may be optimal for blinding foes.¡± ¡°And with there being ten nails to use on our hands, it could be interesting to put different spells on each of them.¡± ¡°Hm, since my magic power increased¡­ If I take that into account, I may be able to fire in rapid succession, though the power could drop.¡± ¡°¡­ Oh.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± I reached a possible conclusion. On that subject, he¡¯s immortal. His nails are probably equal to a dragon¡¯s claws as magic material. ¡°Haster, could you clip your nail for me?¡± ¡°My nail?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible that your nail¡­ It could be a high class magic tool material, you know?¡± ¡°Why¡­ Oh!¡± It seems he realized too. That since becoming ¡°Immortal¡± changes a person¡¯s very nature, it probably turned into a vessel equal to a dragon¡¯s claw. His nails are always well kept, so he couldn¡¯t clip a very big piece off, but we somehow managed to etch a magic spell into the clipped nail. I chanted the command word to activated the etched [Light Ball]. A light strong enough that I felt like a heard a big VWOOM lit the area, and then disappeared. ¡°Like I thought¡­¡± ¡°So it seems. I¡¯ll have to be careful when clipping my nails from now on.¡± ¡°Who would have thought you yourself would become material.¡± ¡°But now our verification is finished. It should be possible to use Yig¡¯s claws in the same way.¡± ¡°But Yig won¡¯t be able to speak a command word, right?¡± ¡°As long as he imagines it and makes a specified sound, it should work fine.¡± I etch a single magic circle into Yig¡¯s claw. I¡¯ve never kept his claws clipped but, just like people, there didn¡¯t appear to be nerves running through them, which was a relief. But still, this is just what I¡¯d expect of Fafnir¡¯s young. The heat I used to burn the nail was far stronger than Haster¡¯s¡­ Actually, I put in enough magic power to burn iron, and somehow managed to etch it in successfully. ¡°Yig, I¡¯ve put [Light Ball] into this nail so you can blind people. The command word is ¡®Agya¡¯.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a terrible command word.¡± ¡°An¡¯ that¡¯s¡ªjust fine. Please give it a try, Yig.¡± ¡°Agya!¡± ~*~ When I woke up, it was the next morning. What the heck was that, a stun grenade? Leave it to a dragon to have such ridiculous magic power. I was knocked out in an instant, and when I opened my eyes the sun was rising. In any case, that¡¯s one countermeasure complete. If I just continue preparing countermeasures little by little like this, we should be able to manage one way or another in a week. ¡°M-morning. I never thought I would be able to welcome such a healthy morning.¡± ¡°Good morning, Haster. I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve slept a wink you know?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ kgh¡­¡± Haster aside, I never thought I would greet the morning together with mister Oreas. Well then, I need to think of the next one! Chapter 65: Part-Time Work Chapter 65: Part-Time Work Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Happy Christmas Eve! Over the course of the week I [Enchanted] accessories, and Yig¡¯s claws. [Transmitter], [Acceleration], [Strength], and even [Body Reinforcement] were things I included in them. With all of this, even a proper phantom thief shouldn¡¯t be able to carelessly lay hands on him. ¡°Kukuku¡­ Just you watch, Livyatan¡­ I¡¯ll make sure you really screw the pooch on this one!¡± ¡°Yuuri, that¡¯s a really old figure of speech. And actually¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong Haster? Do you have some problem with all the work I¡¯m putting in to protect Yig?¡± ¡°The material costs. We¡¯ve practically exhausted our traveling funds.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­This is to protect Yig, you know?¡± ¡°Ugyuu~¡± I may have gone a little too far. My eyes swam a bit as I gazed towards the day after tomorrow. His tail, neck and both horns are decorated with silver-set jewels, and three of the claws on his left and right have various magic circles placed on them using expensive magic paint. I also had him wear some very fine clothes over his whole body, but the clothes also have [Magic Maintaining] sewn into the lining to store extra magic power, and deal with magic exhaustion. With the high maneuverability and firepower on display, Yig¡¯s battle power probably far surpasses some average wyvern¡¯s now. Yig himself seems to feel it¡¯s kind of heavy, but¡­ ¡°W-well we should get some kind of reward once we capture Livyatan. And Forest Bear should be paying us for our help too, so¡­¡± ¡°In other words, if we let her get away, we go bankrupt.¡± ¡°A-all we have to do is win, and everything will be fine!¡± I clench my fists and get fired up. I¡¯m not sweating, okay? Really. ¡°And besides, if Yig gets kidnapped, I¡¯m going to go insane, you know? I would probably burn this entire city down looking for him, you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to ask you to keep yourself under control.¡± ¡°Hmph, then let¡¯s just earn some quick cash. Haster, can you think of something that might work for that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really certain¡­ Actually, Jack and the others would know more about that, wouldn¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Would they?¡± ¡°He is the party leader, despite appearances.¡± It really doesn¡¯t seem that way, but mister Jack is the one who bares responsibility for them. With that decided, we should hurry. We¡¯ll get mister Jack to immediately find a job for us. ~*~ We went to the inn¡¯s dining hall, and sure enough mister Jack and mister Kale were washing dishes. It would seem they were earning their living expenses while they left the Livyatan investigation to miss Bella and mister Bhav. In a sense, it¡¯s the right person in the right place. Mister Oreas? He got dragged into being a waiter. He has a kind of refined look to him, so he¡¯s good for taking in female customers. ¡°Oh, a job? Well that¡¯s a little out of the blue¡­ Ah, come to think of it, I think they needed some help handling the food over at the knight school?¡± ¡°What do you expect us to do with that kind of chump change?¡± ¡°Yuuri, has your monetary sense gone a little wacky as well?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I guess I do feel like I¡¯ve been wasting a lot of money lately¡­¡± ¡°Well, considering the hard work involved, it pays 120 silver a day I hear?¡± Converting to gold coins, that¡¯s 1 gold and 20 silver coins. About 12,000 in Japanese yen. That¡¯s actually pretty nice for a part-time job. ¡°Actually, if there was a better job, we would have taken it.¡± ¡°No kidding. I mean, we¡¯re sitting here washing dishes to pay for our living expenses.¡± Mister Jack and mister Kale gaze into the distance. If you¡¯ve learned anything from this experience, could you please stop drowning your cares in alcohol? ¡°Not like we can cook or anything, else we wouldn¡¯t have to do a job like this.¡± ¡°We¡¯re really good at slicing and tearing things though.¡± The two sigh together. Their specialty as warrior types is destroying things after all. Moreover, the two of them are all thumbs. But helping with food, huh¡­ There¡¯s no danger, and if it¡¯s done with some magical assistance, then even I should be able to manage it without problems. If we have 120 silver coins, we can stay another four days at the inn. Just as we need for Livyatan¡¯s day of notice. ¡°Well, it¡¯s perfect for our deadline, so how about I take it?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll go too. If we both go, we¡¯ll get twice the compensation.¡± ¡°Can you cook, Haster?¡± ¡°I¡¯m excellent at battlefield cooking.¡± Oh, come to think of it he once had me eat bug eggs and stuff. Army food like this is actually probably more on his turf. I can only do household cooking. Maybe we can sneak Yig in to add to our strength too? ¡°Then we¡¯re off to earn some immediate funds.¡± ¡°Righto. Earn some for us too, if you can.¡± ¡°Rather not, thanks.¡± And so we headed toward the knight school on the outskirts of the city. Alec¡¯s alma mater, huh¡­? I actually wanted to visit it as if I was a customer. ~*~ On the outskirts of the city, we headed toward the stupidly huge multi-purpose dorm and school building which stood before us. Since they were told we came by mister Jack¡¯s recommendation, we were guided to the cafeteria without any decent checks. Will they be okay with that kind of security? In the cafeteria, there were older women in their fourties diligently peeling potatoes. ¡°Hello, we came as temporary helpers for the day. I¡¯m Haster, and I look forward to working with you.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m Yuuri.¡± With his brilliant pretty boy smile and greeting, the attention of the cafeteria focused on him all at once. All those eyes make me feel like cowering though¡­ ¡°My my, we have some cute helpers today. I¡¯m acting as the chef here. We appreciate the help.¡± ¡°Of course. Getting right down to it, this is our first time in this type of job. Could you tell us what we can do to help?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be fine, but¡­ Around that young lady¡¯s neck¡­¡± Yeah, of course it would bother them. This collar that is. ¡°This is what he¡¯s in to.¡± ¡°R-really now¡­? Well, keep it in moderation, ¡®kay?¡± ¡°It looks good on her; what¡¯s the big deal?¡± That¡¯s not the problem! More importantly, this is supposed to look good on me?! ¡­ Then I guess there is no problem. ¡°Uhh, okay then. Naturally, we consume a whole load of our staple food, potatoes, so could I have you peel those? Make sure to wash your hands, ¡®kay?¡± ¡°Got it. Yuuri, let¡¯s do this.¡± ¡°Right.¡± In this world the main staple food is bread, with rice in much smaller distribution. But in a school like this, rather than spending all that effort on bread, smashing some potatoes and making mashed potatoes and such tends to be the preferred main dish. The same carbohydrates with the salt content is probably good for the constantly exercising students, too. I put something like a smock over my head, gathered my hair under a hat, and washed my hands for good measure. While I¡¯m at it, may as well thoroughly wash Yig too. ¡°Ugyagyagya?!¡± He loved the hot spring, but he seems to be the type who hates being washed. And then I took a cooking knife in hand and began peeling the potatoes one by one. I guess they don¡¯t have vegetable peelers in this world yet? Peeling potatoes by knife takes a lot of effort. At a quick glance around me, everyone was endeavoring frantically in potato peeling. If I were to suddenly start constructing something in this situation, it would likely earn their ire. ¡°No helping it, I will just have to do this by my own strength!¡± ¡°Agya!¡± Yig is cheering me on. I wanted to try creating a device I saw a long time ago on television. It involved filling a tub with water, tossing potatoes with the eyes taken off into the tub, and then by churning the water around the potatoes could be peeled. But I¡¯ll just have to put up with this. I have five years of experience as a housewife. A few potatoes are of no concern! ~*~ In the time it took Haster to peel two tubs of potatoes, I hadn¡¯t even peeled three fourths of one tub. Goddammit! ¡°Why are you so good at this?¡± ¡°Something as simple as peeling potatoes is the basics. The basics.¡± Hmhm, Haster smugly hummed as he puffed out his chest. This is irking me a bit! As a wife, I can¡¯t afford to lose in a battle of household tasks. It¡¯s time to show him how obstinate I can be. ¡°You two are better at this than I expected. Do you help out around the house?¡± ¡°There¡¯s only the two of us in the house, so we¡¯ve learned to handle everything on our own.¡± ¡°Oh, I see¡­ I asked something I shouldn¡¯t have.¡± Something you shouldn¡¯t have? Ooh, I guess she thinks we¡¯re siblings who lost our parents and are living together? Sorry to break it to you, but what we ¡®lost¡¯ wasn¡¯t our parents, it was Haster¡¯s conscience. And his self control along with it. ¡°Well then, I know you must be tired, but next I¡¯m gonna need the young lady here to peel the onions for us. Once you¡¯ve peeled them, go ahead and cut them in thin slices.¡± ¡°Got it, boss.¡± ¡°Oh, and could I have you, young man, go to the warehouse and get a bag of wheat?¡± ¡°Understood¡­ Yig, you come too. You seem like you¡¯re free, so help me out.¡± ¡°Ugyu!¡± Continuing on in this way, we spent the morning doing prep work, and when noon came around, the war began. ~*~ Changing from a smock to an apron, I desperately try to shake a frying pan. It¡¯s large enough for several people, thick, heavy, and rough. It was truly a mass of iron. ¡°Hnggghh!¡± I exerted all my strength, taking the pan in both hands to shake it, to finish up enough fried vegetables for about five people. Haster¡¯s job is frying some fritters covered in bread crumbs. ¡­ We seem to be in the reverse roles we should be, strength-wise. ¡°Yig, fire.¡± ¡°Shaa!¡± Making certain nobody around us is looking this way, I have Yig help out. He bathes the vegetables in flames, heating them through all at once until just before the moisture seeps out of them, and I finish it off with salt and pepper. The vegetables are stacked on a plate along with soup from a large pot, bread, and half an apple. Once they¡¯re all placed on trays, they¡¯re ready. ¡°Three orders of fried vegetables¡ªup!¡± Normally it would be enough for five people, and for people with my appetite it would be enough for eight people. But these fried vegetables are actually only for three people. How truly frightening growing boys and girls are, Could it be that I wasn¡¯t giving Alec enough food at meal times¡­? Naw, he always had Marle with him. I¡¯m sure she supplied extra provisions to stave off his hunger. ¡°Whoa, this girl made the meal for us today?¡± ¡°Seriously? A little girl¡¯s hand-cooked meal?!¡± ¡°Fried vegetables for me too!¡± Calm the hell down, boys. Er, please. Thus I continued awkwardly wielding a frying pan until the sun went down that day. Furthermore, the fritters that Haster made were very popular with the female knights. ¡­ Stay away; that is mine. ~*~ ¡°You sure were a big help. To think those vegetable hating boys would eat so much! Would you come back again tomorrow?¡± ¡°No uhh¡­ We have some other things to do. I am very sorry.¡± ¡°That so? Too bad. The girls who would usually complain about the oil and getting fat, the boys who hate vegetables, and all the other picky eaters just took their food without a word. I was truly grateful for that.¡± ¡°They get plenty of exercise, so the kids were all in very good health.¡± ¡°¡­ Hrmm.¡± I¡¯m the thin skin and bones type, so maybe the women with a reasonable amount of meat on them were a fresh sight for him? Or just maybe he was feeling nostalgic about Alec in his early training days. ¡°Yig, let¡¯s start exercising tomorrow.¡± ¡°Ukyu?¡± ¡°Hm? Well so be it. If you¡¯ve ever got time on your hands again, come on by to help.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ Take it easy on us please.¡± I guess he really did endure through today¡¯s work too. The subtle sweat running down his back is something I didn¡¯t miss. The compensation for the two of us was supposed to be 240 silver coins, but we were paid 250. And we also received permission to tour inside the school until the evening. That¡¯s only about two hour from now, but¡­ It¡¯s a tour of the school! --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: However, the tour scene will be cut. I¡¯d like to write a school arc when I have the opportunity at some point. Chapter 66: Discovery Chapter 66: Discovery Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations A late Christmas present chapter for you all! Merry Christmas! The resulting school tour ended half-way through. If I had to say why, it would be because the female students were coming over to pet me and hug me for some reason. At those times I hid behind Haster, so they hugged him instead. Then I got jealous and pulled on his arm to peel him away. These events repeated endlessly. Being hugged or having my head pushed down on by a stranger was still too heavy a burden on me. It¡¯s only been a year since Alec graduated, so I was thinking of asking what stories there are of him around the school, but¡­ In any case, we quickly evacuated from the school, and since we had some spare time until evening, we decided to go looking around for clothes. Beach-side port cities tend to prosper in trade, so there¡¯s quite the selection of cute clothes around. We came to a store that deals in clothes, but¡­ ¡°Sir, servicing slaves within this store is¡­¡± ¡°No, listen, she¡¯s not a slave.¡± Of course the store clerk wore a dubious look when he saw my collar. No matter how good he says it looks on me, this is¡­ You know? ¡°This is her fashion choice.¡± ¡°Could you not act like this is my fault? This is what you like, isn¡¯t it?!¡± Haster casually blamed it on me, so after giving him a punch, we took a look inside the shop. There were all sorts of clothes around, but as expected there was a women¡¯s swimsuit section occupying one area, and giving off a very port city specialty feel. ¡°Hrm, thinking about it carefully, I only have the one swimsuit I bought the other day. As a blooming woman, wouldn¡¯t it be better for me to have multiple ones?¡± ¡°Blooming? Oh, er, I¡¯m probably not one to ask¡­ But there¡¯s nothing wrong with having a few, right? They could get stained and stuff sometimes.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t give possible staining as the reason. But if you choose one for me, then I¡¯ll wear anything you want, you know?¡± ¡°Then nude.¡± ¡°Are you an idiot?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who said it.¡± ¡°I said I would wear something! Why did you immediately reply with wearing nothing?!¡± Not unless there¡¯s a nudist beach or something in Cornus! ¡°Eh, but there is? Naturally it is not allowed within the beach in the middle of town though.¡± ¡°¡­ Seriously?¡± I received an unexpected reply from the store clerk. That¡¯s somewhere I¡¯d like to go once¡­ No, if we went somewhere like that, it would just light a fire under his pathos. We certainly wouldn¡¯t be going sea bathing. What I would end up bathing in isn¡¯t sea water, but something else, I¡¯m sure. In response to his extremely interested look, I stepped on his toes at full force, and had Yig bite his head. ¡°Ouch! Owowow! We won¡¯t, we won¡¯t go! Just get Yig off of me!¡± ¡°I want to go to have fun, Haster.¡± ¡°Aguagu¡­¡± ¡°I understand, so get Yig¡­ I¡¯m gonna go bald here!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m sure with how you are now, you¡¯ll be able to beat back Yig¡¯s saliva. Though I would have been worried if it was a month ago.¡± Because one month ago he was standing in front of a mirror sighing at his increasing white hairs. ¡°You were watching me?!¡± ¡°Whether you go bald or you get white hairs, I still love you, you know?¡± ¡°Ur¡­ Well, it¡¯s fine now. That problem has already been solved.¡± The female store clerks got excited by my confession for some reason. Why? More importantly, you girls, please don¡¯t go hugging each other. The male customers are watching rather jealously, you know? ¡°A-anyway, back to swimsuits. If I were to choose something suitable¡­ Yuuri has sensitive skin, so could you find something without too much exposure for her?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. Ahem¡­ Very well. Then right this way please.¡± ¡°Okay Haster, I¡¯ll see you in a bit.¡± When it comes to buying women¡¯s swimsuits, there¡¯s all sorts of trying things on and stuff that needs to happen, so we split up for a bit. We may not have much in the way of funds remaining, but the portion that he worked for today gave us some surplus, so we can spend about 100 silver coins freely now. I took Yig along as I was guided to the multicolored fabrics and gorgeous designs lined up in the women¡¯s swimsuit section. Leave it to a port city to have a corner like this set up. The store clerk cheerfully grabbed a number of swimsuits¡ª ¡°Your skin is very fair and beautiful, miss, so we will emphasize that¡­ How does this one look to you?¡± ¡°From what I¡¯m seeing, that¡¯s a micro bikini, isn¡¯t it?!¡± ¡°Then how about something like this¡­¡± ¡°Why would you recommend a slingshot to a little girl?!¡± ¡°I see you¡¯re quite the tough customer. Then how about¡­¡± ¡°And that¡¯s a fundoshi! Someone~, I need a different clerk here~!¡± This clerk was a lost cause. The floor manager who came running performed a magnificent shining wizard on the clerk, and then a replacement was brought in to help guide me. ¡°Ummm, my stomach tends to stick out a bit, so I would rather not have something that shows it off¡­¡± ¡°Really now? I find it adorably suited to your age, but¡­ In that case, we have the one piece swimsuits over here.¡± ¡°Whoa¡­ You have this many?!¡± With men¡¯s swimsuits, there are a lot of stores that only have one or two clothes racks, and yet¡­ What¡¯s with this huge number?! This section of the store is entirely swimsuits, with enough variation to bury myself in, and that¡¯s in just one genre of them. I now understand one part of why women¡¯s shopping takes so long. Looking for one I really like is going to be back-breaking work from this point on! ¡°Hum¡­ But there really aren¡¯t many white swimsuits. I suppose material that isn¡¯t see through hasn¡¯t been developed yet?¡± ¡°If there is such a fabric, please tell me about it!¡± ¡°Uwhoa?!¡± The new guide was suddenly hitting me up for information. Maybe she¡¯s in charge of designs? ¡°White is the color we avoid at all costs. If we make it thicker to keep it from being see-through, it becomes uncomfortable. If we leave it thin, then it becomes see-through¡­ It turns into a neurosis for us developers during this season.¡± ¡°Ahh, I¡¯m actually not very knowledgeable about materials. Sorry.¡± ¡°I-Is that so¡­? My deepest apologies for losing my composure.¡± ¡°No it¡¯s okay, I think I understand.¡± A white material that isn¡¯t see-through, huh? I¡¯ve heard that in my previous world such a material only came out relatively recently. I guess it really would be a concern. While thinking about that, I took a kind of blackish one piece swimsuit in hand, and went stiff. ¡°¡ªTh-this is?¡± ¡°Ohh, this is umm¡­ It¡¯s a design that¡¯s pretty old, and it has gone out of style, but it seems to be popular with a portion of men for some reason¡­¡± ¡°I-I suppose it would be¡­¡± ¡°So while we only have a few, we continue to display them in the store.¡± The swimsuit in hand was full navy blue, had very little exposure, and even came complete with a drain hole¡­ It was the so-called school swimsuit. Moreover it also had a white line on the side, not to the specifications of the ones in adult videos, but an authentic looking one from some school¡¯s¡­ ¡°This¡­ Whoever reincarnated here before was definitely a pervert.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Nothing, just talking to myself.¡± ¡°There¡¯s also an option of a numbered bib, and a care and handling manual written for it.¡± ¡°It comes with a user¡¯s manual?!¡± How very meticulous¡­ I can feel the obsession here. But this is¡­ I don¡¯t really want to wear this¡­ No, but it¡¯s something I would definitely want to see being worn. A silver haired little girl in a school swimsuit; that¡¯s a dream come true, right? ¡°But I feel like I¡¯ll have lost in some way if I pick this. Like in¡­ A lot of ways.¡± ¡°I think it will look very good on you.¡± ¡°It looking good on me is the problem. Definitely.¡± I¡¯m sure it will look great. But that makes me sense that I¡¯m heading towards a very particular preference from over there (Earth). As far as I¡¯m concerned, I want Haster to tell me I¡¯m cute anyway, and¡­ But¡­ But still¡­! ~*~ The price was 30 silver coins. With the option included, 35 coins. Finishing the accounting and payment, I cried manly tears. Even though I¡¯m a girl already. Yeah, I couldn¡¯t fight against my dreams. But it¡¯s fine. He said it should be a swimsuit without much exposure anyway. He might have even been hoping for this right from the start. Come to think of it, the clerk said something like ¡°I couldn¡¯t even imagine removing that collar¡± when I was trying it on. Maybe there was some sort of romance that she felt from the collar? ¡°Since I prioritized my own desires more than wanting to show him a cute swimsuit¡­ This means I¡¯m already a fellow pervert, huh. Hahaha¡­¡± ¡®School swimsuit¡¯, ¡®silver hair¡¯, ¡®collar¡¯, ¡®glasses¡¯, ¡®little girl¡¯; it is now complete. Maybe there¡¯s too many components here? I recalled when I tried it on, and laughed emptily as I headed to where Haster is. His upper body was naked and he was taking some sort of poses in a swimsuit. Around him were some very macho type clerks¡ª ¡°Uhhh¡­ Like this?¡± ¡°Yes, quite nice! How splendid, young man!¡± ¡°Try this swimsuit next¡­ Oh my, I will be buying that one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair! That one is mine!¡± That¡¯s¡­ Oh crap, I have to get him out of there quick! ¡°Haster, have you finished shopping? If we don¡¯t hurry to the next place, the sun is going to set.¡± ¡°Y-yeah, you¡¯re right. They were having me sort of model these and I lost track of time.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and evacuate¡­ I mean leave the store, maybe have a meal, and head back. Yig is going to get tired of waiting for us.¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry about that. Then I¡¯ll take this swimsuit please.¡± ¡°You¡¯re leaving already? That¡¯s too bad.¡± They¡¯re talking like girls, but of course the clerks are men. I wonder if there are a lot of homosexuals in this world¡­? ~*~ Haster¡¯s swimsuit was 20 silver coins. With my own spending included, we still had about another 50 coins we could spend, so he wanted to go shopping for some accessories that would go with my swimsuit. As such, we went to a place with plenty of good articles; miss Levy¡¯s street stall. ¡°Oh, hey ya¡¯ll. Always a pleasure. That there collar sure looks fine on ya.¡± ¡°We¡¯re here again. Today we want some accessories that would go well with a swimsuit.¡± ¡°Swimsuit? Ya¡¯ll are going swimming? Ain¡¯t that nice¡­ That bein¡¯ the case, hows about these?¡± She took out bracelets, anklets, scarfs, and even straw hats, one after another, out of a tool box for us. As usual, she has a great product selection. Just where does she get all this stuff I wonder? From what I¡¯m already using, shells, stones, beads and other such cheaper things, to expensive jeweled items and things that use plenty of silver threads. There is truly a variety. ¡°You¡¯re so well prepared, as usual.¡± ¡°These here goods sell well ¡¯round summertime. I prepare for that sorta thing.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have much of a budget, so could you recommend us something for about 30 silver coins?¡± ¡°How¡¯s about this?¡± What she suggested for me was an anklet with red and green stones. The stones themselves aren¡¯t expensive, but the hues were simple, and they had an adorable look to them. ¡°Ya have a kinda bratty¡­ a youthful look to ya Yuuri, so somethin¡¯ like this will suit ya don¡¯t ya think?¡± ¡°I feel like I heard something just now?¡± ¡°I-I ain¡¯t said nothin¡¯?¡± What kind of rude things are you saying to your loyal customers? But even so, the hand-made feel of this is really nice. ¡°Did you make this miss Levy?¡± ¡°Sure did. I¡¯m pretty good with my hands, so this sorta thing is my specialty. They¡¯re also free to stock and sell well, so I recommend it.¡± ¡°If you had just stopped talking I would have felt some admiration¡­¡± The way the stones are connected through accurately poked holes in their centers is on a level that wouldn¡¯t lose out to a craftsman. Could it be she has some sort of ¡°Artisan¡± gift I wonder? If that¡¯s the case I certainly wouldn¡¯t mind partnering with her as a manufacturer for producing magic tools. With a quick glance I took a peek at her with ¡°Appraisal¡±. ¡ªName: Livyatan Age:16 Gender: Female Job: Phantom Thief Gifts: Recognition Blocking (Can be disabled), Peerless Magic (Can be disabled), Trap Disabling ¡­ ¡­ ¡­So you¡¯ve been right fucking here the whole time. Chapter 67: Countermeasure Conference Chapter 67: Countermeasure Conference Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations I ¡°Appraised¡± her true identity, and my jaw immediately dropped. When they saw the strange face I was making, both Haster and Levy¡­ Nay, Livyatan looked at me dubiously. ¡ªShould I catch her here and now¡­? No, if I make a fuss here, proof would be¡­ I¡¯ll still have to catch her in the act. While my mind may be in chaos right now, I at least understood that much. Luckily there are still four days until the appointed theft. I still have some time to deal with this. ¡ªBut If she¡¯s Livyatan, then it¡¯s safe to assume that she¡¯s already found out about the countermeasures I gave Yig. Because she has ¡°Peerless Magic,¡± just like me. I¡¯ll have to scrap all the interception plans I blithely brought Yig around wearing. ¡°Yuuri, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ah, uhh, no, it¡¯s nothing. I was just think the reflection on the water sure is dazzling today, and felt a little fascinated.¡± ¡°Hum? Yeah, it¡¯s ¡¯cause the weather is real nice today.¡± Somehow I managed to play it off as getting dazzled by the ocean behind her, rather than that I was looking at her, I guess? Livyatan didn¡¯t show any sign of suspicion, and continued talking about the product. ¡°Hmmm, it seems fine I suppose?¡± ¡°Hm, what is?¡± ¡°Er, about the merchandise.¡± ¡°Oh, so ya¡¯ll like it then? Seein¡¯ as the materials were basically free, a simple 5 silver coins is all it¡¯ll be.¡± ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll take that. Thank you as always.¡± ¡°Right back at ya¡¯ll. Makes me right glad how life¡¯s been so nice and cozy lately.¡± She hands me the stone anklet in a paper bag while grinning. In any case, I don¡¯t know how long I can hide what I know, so we have to hurry out of here. Acting is definitely not my specialty. ¡°Okay Haster, next is dinner. I want to have some fish today.¡± ¡°Oh? Yeah, sounds good. Then there should be some good places up along the coast.¡± ¡°Ya¡¯ll are as flirty as usual. It¡¯s all good, all good; this lady here¡¯ll just keep on sellin¡¯ things alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find someone nice soon too, Li¡­ Miss Levy.¡± Like a jailer for example¡­ I thought it felt a bit forced, but with that as our reason, I suggested we leave. I payed the cost, and practically pulled Yig and Haster as we quickly got away from there. ~*~ The harbor of Cornus is mainly for the small fishing boats of the inshore fishing industry. We unfortunately couldn¡¯t find any tuna, but of course mackerel and horse mackerel, sea bream, flounder, and even squid and octopus they had in abundant stock. Once he chose an affordable restaurant, I decided to fully enjoy this long-missed seafood while considering countermeasures. I suppose it¡¯s due to a difference in culture, but they didn¡¯t have any raw fish dishes, which was a real letdown¡­ However, they did have a variety of cooking methods from salt grilling to frying, which made me feel like I might spontaneously forget about the main issue at hand. I ordered the fried combination platter, and he chose the salt fried flounder with a light drink. Then I reported the results of my ¡°Appraisal¡± back there. ¡°So anyway, she¡¯s Livyatan.¡± ¡°Buffuuh?!¡± He grandly spat out the pre-meal drink of muddy wine he was enjoying. That flew towards the seat directly in front of him, where I was sitting, and splendidly splattered all over my face. ¡°Stop that, please, I¡¯m not the type of girl who enjoys having stuff splattered on her.¡± ¡°Er, uhh, sorry. But are you sure?¡± ¡°My ¡°Appraisal¡± very clearly gave the name Livyatan. It even showed the proper Phantom Thief job title for her.¡± There¡¯s one person ¡°Appraisal¡± hasn¡¯t worked on before, but I haven¡¯t seen anyone fool it yet. If she¡¯s even more of a monster than Bahamut, then it¡¯s not out of the question though. ¡°In that case, all our counter plans up to now¡­¡± ¡°Were all seen, yeah.¡± ¡°So we got this far and we¡¯re back to the drawing board, huh.¡± ¡°Since we discovered our opponent¡¯s true identity, rather than the drawing board, we¡¯re practically to the goal. We just have to catch her at the scene of a crime.¡± With [Transmitter] we would be able to find where she is without even looking for her, so I had been feeling quite at ease on that point. ¡°Why would we have to catch her at the¡­ Ah, I suppose we would.¡± ¡°Yeah, if we tried seizing her over there, it would just look like we were trying to rough up a merchant.¡± ¡°Because there¡¯s no evidence. The only thing Livyatan has officially stolen is an imitation jewel, and that¡¯s about it.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a phantom thief without any stolen goods to serve as proof of it. All we can probably do is take her down when she comes to steal Yig.¡± If she was a phantom thief with actual achievements, we could have held her down there, found the stolen goods and accomplished the request, but¡­ She hasn¡¯t had any decent results from her attempts, so there wouldn¡¯t be anything to count as evidence. Especially since nobody still knows what she looks like. ¡°On top of seizing her, what we need is a ¡®Gift Sealing¡¯ item.¡± ¡°Indeed, if we don¡¯t make something like your Sealing Magic Mirror, she¡¯ll just be able to run away again.¡± ¡°And it will have to be something she can¡¯t take off on her own.¡± ¡°Like a collar?¡± He glances towards my neck, and the corners of his mouth turn up in a smile. Please stop that. The surrounding gazes towards this collar already hurt enough, you know? I¡¯m only wearing it because you gave it to me. ¡°Better idea; how about shackles? And the type made of iron and welded together where they join.¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t hold back either¡­ In that case, I guess we¡¯ll try making them that way. Have you gotten a grasp of the Sealing Magic Mirror¡¯s spell formula?¡± ¡°For what¡¯s on these glasses, yeah basically. But I¡¯m not sure if it can be used on ¡°Recognition Blocking¡± the way it is or not.¡± There are way too many unknowns in the field of gifts. If we make the same thing, it¡¯ll probably only end up being able to seal ¡°Golden Ratio¡± away. ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem. What those glasses seal isn¡¯t the gift itself, but the ¡°influential power inflicted on those around¡± by it.¡± ¡°Influential power¡­ It¡¯s pretty impressive that you could improvise something like that, huh?¡± I¡¯m pretty sure he made these glasses just two days from the time we met. Though he switched them out a number of times. ¡°They weren¡¯t improvised. I researched the subject thinking I would use it for myself.¡± ¡°For yourself?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had plenty of unpleasant encounters on account of gifts too. If I could restrict their influence, I figured I could change my life.¡± Considering he¡¯s a gift holder as well, he was probably looked at with rose-colored glasses, and became a target of hatred as well. From my perspective, he¡¯s the type who doesn¡¯t like people. When coming face-to-face with others, he deals with them calmly and politely, but on a basic level he prefers to be alone. If I¡¯m the only exception then that¡¯s fine, but¡­ ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll strengthen this spell formula, and prepare an item welded together.¡± ¡°The problem is where are we going to get something like that, though.¡± ¡°And we can¡¯t use miss Levy¡¯s place.¡± That¡¯s when I suddenly felt piercing stares stabbing into me. Upon quickly raising my head and looking around us, I noticed the other guests were looking at us strangely. Come to think of it, from an outside perspective we¡¯re a collared little girl brought along by a young boy, talking about ¡°where could we find some shackles?¡± while enjoying our meal together. ¡°Yup, we are suspicious to the max right now.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not self-conscious in the least, huh? ¡­ Haster, right now you¡¯re eating with a collared little girl, right?¡± ¡°So I am.¡± ¡°And you are talking about where you might find shackles next, you see.¡± ¡°¡­ So I am.¡± ¡°Thinking normally, who do you expect those shackles would be used on?¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­I guess I¡¯ll need to purchase some for you too, huh?¡± ¡°How did you come to that conclusion?!¡± Could it be that he actually wanted a slave or something? I¡¯m not really into that sort of play. In any case, if we stuck around any longer, they would give us really weird looks, so we soon departed from there. Note: the fried horse mackerel was delicious. Let¡¯s come here again. ~*~ As soon as we got back to the inn, we called an emergency meeting. ¡°So anyway, we want some shackles to seal her gift away, but¡­¡± ¡°In that case, how about using mine?¡± ¡°Why, exactly, do you have some, miss Bella¡­?¡± ¡°Eh? To use them, of course.¡± On who¡­ is something I won¡¯t ask. Mister Bhav, I hope you find happiness. He has a sort of hopeless look on his face, though. ¡°Levy¡¯s the one who always opens shop on the upper areas, right? She was so cute, too.¡± ¡°Jack, you always say that about girls that age, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I mean, they¡¯re cute though, right?¡± ¡°Mister Jack, I am basically around 15 you know?¡± ¡°You¡¯re lyiiiing¡± ¡°OKAY, don¡¯t move from that spot. You¡¯ll be a great victim for my Rail Cannon.¡± ¡°Calm down, Yuuri. You¡¯ll destroy the inn. Do it outside.¡± ¡°Stop her, will you?!¡± Anyway, we managed to obtain some shackles to restrain her with. Now we just have to figure out what to do about our countermeasures being made completely useless. ¡°She¡¯s probably seen through all of the magic tools we¡¯ve made as countermeasures up to now.¡± ¡°Could she really tell just by looking? I wouldn¡¯t be able to make heads or tails of them.¡± ¡°Mister Oreas, she¡¯s a gift holder. And she has ¡°Peerless Magic¡±, just like me. This gift exhibits tremendous effects in relation to magic spells.¡± ¡°Though she may not look it, Yuuri can roughly turn a magic spell into her own at a single glance. She¡¯s a true genius.¡± ¡°Taking up that burden depends on a person¡¯s physical and mental abilities though. Her athletic abilities were extremely high, so she probably doesn¡¯t have as much magic power as I do.¡± ¡°But ¡°seeing through¡± the spells isn¡¯t related to how much magic power you have, huh.¡± ¡°Exactly. So about that¡­¡± I announced the ¡°trap¡± I seriously thought about while heading back from the restaurant. ¡°Is that really going to be effective?¡± ¡°It will; I¡¯ve already tested it. The problem is who will step away from being fighting power for us.¡± ¡°But if it means we can neutralize someone who¡¯s able to avoid Yuuri¡¯s magic, then it will be well worth it.¡± ¡°Bhav, can you avoid Yuuri¡¯s magic?¡± ¡°Do you want me to die, Jack?¡± It would seem mister Jack isn¡¯t feeling the seriousness of the situation yet. Let¡¯s pound this nail down right here and now. ¡°Mister Jack, if you don¡¯t take this more seriously¡­¡± ¡°I mean, come on. She¡¯s after that little dragon, right? If we just leave this alone, he¡¯ll come right back, won¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Now that you mention it¡­ I never thought about what she would want to steal him for.¡± Thinking about it, there¡¯s no way she¡¯d be able to tame him after kidnapping him. If she lets go of him, he¡¯ll be able to run away. And she doesn¡¯t appear to have a master like Haster around. Does she have a spell of her own that will restrain Yig? Yeah, what she¡¯s doing is definitely strange. It¡¯s as if she predicted the rumored powerful and fresh-faced Forest Bear party would come, began her activities, and practically provoked people with her notices. And then she didn¡¯t worry for a second about her failures, meanderingly continued her job in the same city, and targeted us as if she¡¯d already aimed for it. When it comes to large cities in the area, there¡¯s also Comb. Why hasn¡¯t she gone over there¡­? ¡°There¡¯s no real point in going after Yig in the first place. She did say flying dragon pups are rare, but¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, baby wyverns are certainly unusual, but it¡¯s not like they can¡¯t be found for the right price.¡± ¡°Actually, it¡¯s almost like she knew you two were acquaintances of Forest Bear and purposely targeted him because of that.¡± ¡°Does that mean Forest Bear is her true target?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t say for certain. At least not right now.¡± It would seem there are even more things we¡¯ll need to ask her directly. --------------------------------------------------------------- Translator¡¯s Note: I should be able to get the next chapter out tomorrow! Chapter 68: Resolution Chapter 68: Resolution Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations It¡¯s one week after my first encounter with Livyatan, the appointed day. Everything was already prepared¡­ Or so I thought before, as I¡¯m now digging a hole behind the inn. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I forgot! And so cleanly and completely!¡± ¡°Why is it that I have to help you dig a hole?¡± My hole digging partner, miss Bella, issued a complaint. Come on, what¡¯s the problem? You¡¯re in the surplus fighting force anyway. ¡°Everything is set up inside the inn already, so what¡¯s wrong with helping out? Besides this hole digging work is important.¡± ¡°What exactly is this anyway?¡± ¡°A bath!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°To be more precise, the innkeeper said, ¡°if I can use it as an open air bath later, then you can dig a hole¡± to give me permission, so¡­¡± ¡°So, what are we going to use this as?¡± ¡°As a bath?¡± Miss Bella tilted her head a second time upon hearing my answer. It¡¯s such a cute gesture. She should show that to mister Bhav. ¡°Why am I part of the surplus anyway? Wouldn¡¯t it be better for me to face her inside?¡± Her misgivings are, well, they¡¯re reasonable I suppose. For the current arrangement, Haster is in our room, fully armed. In the adjacent room is Yig and all of Forest Bear, except miss Bella, on standby. And in the back yard are miss Bella and I, currently digging a hole. ¡°Ah, careful miss Bella. We¡¯re going to use that spot for a water pipe, so be sure not to dig too deep.¡± ¡°Oh, so sorry¡­¡± I use magic to roughly dig the hole, miss Bella uses a shovel to do the fine details, and I finish it off by firing the surface to give it a coating. A heavy shovel felt like too much for me to handle; I would immediately feel it in my back. I suddenly felt like the moon was covered and looked up to see a cloudless night sky spread out before me. ¡°¡­ She¡¯s here, huh? We have to hurry.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the room!¡± ¡°This is more important.¡± I pump well water up into the fired bath tub, and confirm that the water flows. Once I noticed there were no problems, I used [Water Bolt] to immediately fill it with water, and slammed it with a [Heat Ball] to bring the temperature up to a steaming heat. Normally it¡¯s structured for a pump to fill it with water, and firewood to heat it, but we hardly have the time right now, so I took a shortcut. Upon completing that, strange voices could be heard from the inn room. ¡°Fuhahahaha! Phantom Thief Livyatan has arrived! Merely changing rooms could hardly fool me¡ª!¡± ¡°There you are! Hey, let¡¯s do this!¡± ¡°Agya¡ª!¡± ¡°You¡¯re in the way, shrimp, move it!¡± She has the skills to move in secret, so why does she so grandly call out her name I wonder? Is she an idiot? Noisy banging, slamming, rampaging sounds, and clouds of dust came from the room, as well as the occasional breath flying out the window. Haster stuck his head out the window from the adjacent room, and checked in my direction. I gave a single nod in reply. ¡°It would make things simple if we could catch her here, but¡­¡± ¡°What are you doing? We have to hurry back inside!¡± ¡°Patience. We¡¯re going to stand by here for a bit.¡± Livyatan¡¯s target is Yig. If that¡¯s the case, then she shouldn¡¯t be able to harm him. Even if she had been targeting him for materials, a young dragon whose scales haven¡¯t even hardened wouldn¡¯t fetch a very high price. She would have to raise him for a few years or it probably wouldn¡¯t be worth it. ¡°Besides¡­ I can¡¯t see Livyatan harming Yig.¡± When we first met her and she amiably pet Yig, her expression didn¡¯t seem fake. After the disturbance continued for a while, a purple smoke puffed from the room. ¡°So she really did use a drug, huh.¡± ¡°A drug? If it¡¯s dangerous, then¡ª¡° ¡°No, it¡¯s probably a sleeping drug. Based on the stories thus far, I wouldn¡¯t put it past her to get caught in it and fall asleep herself, but¡­¡± The most efficient way to make Yig powerless is to put him to sleep. There have been plenty of stories, from time immemorial, in which dragons are killed by putting them to sleep and launching surprise attacks. And then Livyatan, holding Yig, jumped out from the window. ¡°And of course that didn¡¯t happen. Well then, time for a chase. You stay here and wait for Haster please, miss Bella. It¡¯s why I had him wait in a separate room.¡± ¡°Eh? Yeah, will do.¡± I left miss Bella with orders and leaped into the night sky, giving chase to Livyatan. ~*~ Cutting through the lukewarm summer air, we soared through the sky. It¡¯s almost like ¡°a scene from an anime¡± I bitterly smiled as I chased the phantom thief in front of me. ¡°Okay Livyatan, it¡¯s round two!¡± ¡°Hrm, so you came, Yuuri. But the game is already over!¡± While still holding Yig, she made a big spin, and threw something towards me with her open hand. Though I was cautious from her declaration, a few curtains of smoke exploded in front of me. ¡°Smoke bombs! You even had something like these ready?¡± In a somewhat overacted tone I shouted. Although it¡¯s not exactly strange that she had these ready for her escape. I have to keep this up. If I know there will be no harm caused, I just have to break through. I flew straight through the smokescreen, and on the other side¡ªI couldn¡¯t find Livyatan. ¡°Kh! Where did¡ª?!¡± Losing her here is definitely bad. It¡¯s way too soon. I [Detected] the [Transmitter] on Yig, and chased after it. ¡°Wha¡­ It hasn¡¯t been removed?¡± If she has ¡°Peerless Magic¡± too, then she should already have noticed the [Transmitter] placed on him. Yet she escaped without getting rid of it; it¡¯s almost as if she¡¯s asking me to follow after her. ¡°What sort of intentions does she actually have I wonder¡­?¡± Anyway, I¡¯m grateful that I don¡¯t need to rely on ¡®that¡¯ to chase after her. It would seem she¡¯s taking the drains over to the port. There were plenty of warehouses lined up over there. I¡¯ve heard that because this city is near the shore they¡¯ve installed a large drainage system as a countermeasure for huge waves. She must be taking advantage of that. Using my own advantage of flying through the sky, I head her off a number of times to disrupt her movements and buy time. And then, after deciding that I had bought enough time, I lost sight of her. ~*~ ¡°Or so I say, but since she didn¡¯t cancel out the [Transmitter], chasing after her isn¡¯t particularly difficult, but¡­ Seriously, what is she thinking?¡± While hiding around a corner of the warehouse town, I put my doubts to words. The [Transmitter] is still continuously sending back a reaction, and the reaction from ¡®that¡¯ was there again, so there should be no mistake she¡¯s hiding in the warehouse in front of me. And then the trailing Haster and company caught up. ¡°Sorry for the wait, Yuuri.¡± ¡°Think nothing of it. Were you and the others okay, mister Jack?¡± ¡°As you imagined, the smokescreen was a sleeping drug.¡± ¡°Sleeping medicine is a classic set-up for dragon slaying, after all.¡± ¡°What the hell, if you knew then you could have said so.¡± Yig isn¡¯t some object. That means stealing him requires making him powerless. If she was going to steal him alive, then the only possibilities I could think of were anesthesia or a sleeping drug. ¡°I would actually rather ask why you didn¡¯t realize it yourself?¡± ¡°Grrrr¡­.¡± ¡°And so you had sir Haster wait in a separate room.¡± Miss Bella said with a slightly flushed face. Yeah, whatever, just get away from Haster already, you boyfriend have-er. ¡°I think it should be fine at this point, so¡­ Haster, I leave it to you.¡± ¡°Yeah, off I go.¡± He proudly walked towards the warehouse directly from the front. Of course if she¡¯s watching from inside, then she¡¯ll probably notice, but¡­ After a short while, he came back holding Yig. He opened the door, and used a [Ventilate] spell to air out the room. And then he continued on and flew back towards the inn. ¡°H-hey¡­ Is that okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s totally okay.¡± After he went away, we infiltrated the warehouse. Inside was¡ªLivyatan alone, agonized and in heat. ¡°Haa, haa¡ªWhat¡¯n blazes is thiiis¡­¡± ¡°Uwoah?! Is this paradise?!¡± ¡°This is poison to the eyes.¡± The agonizing Livyatan had excited mister Jack and mister Kale. These bastards seriously have no sense of delicacy! Uhh, okay yeah, I stole a few lusty looks at her too. ¡°I put some orc¡¯s fluid onto Yig¡¯s scales.¡± ¡°Why the hell do you have something like that with you?!¡± ¡°The necessities of research compelled me.¡± Yes, the reason I kept the ¡®women,¡¯ miss Bella and myself away from Yig is to elude the influence of this fluid. The reason I bought time was to make sure Livyatan had thoroughly fallen under its influence though. ¡°Then that bath is¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s to wash Yig in. If we used the room¡¯s bath, the smell would stick around and cause something horrible to happen.¡± ¡°Sounds like you have some kind of dangerous story about it?¡± ¡°It was amazing¡­¡± Yeah, I really never expected I would push a man down myself. Putting that aside! I quickly placed our restraints on her. The gift sealing shackles were already set. Upon doing so, her face, which we couldn¡¯t perceive before, perfectly matched miss Levy¡¯s. My mind made me feel like it¡¯s strange I didn¡¯t recognize her before. This is the effect of the ¡°Recognition Blocking¡± gift. ¡°Anyway miss Bella, use [Antidote] on her. At this rate we won¡¯t be able to ask her anything.¡± ¡°Guess so. Besides, it¡¯s quite the poison for the men¡¯s eyes, huh?¡± She stealthily brought her hand behind mister Bhav and pinched his butt. Surprisingly, she¡¯s quite jealous. ¡°The men can go outside. Go on, shoo.¡± ¡°Aww¡ª, come on, just a little¡ª¡° ¡°[Wind Bolt]¡± ¡°Uwoah?! Ooow!¡± I sent the men off with weak [Wind Bolt] chastisements to chase them out. During which miss Bell finished the [Antidote]. While doing so I and miss Bella herself also took an [Antidote]. The lingering smell aside, I used the fluids effects to chase after her, so it was getting just a bit dangerous. I don¡¯t want to know what would have happened if I was hit by the fluid and got excited. ¡°Whew, this truly is a dangerous product.¡± ¡°Right? I think the adventurer¡¯s guild should raise the danger level on orcs a little higher.¡± The redness disappears from miss Bella¡¯s expression, and she returns to her usual cool beauty self. But I¡¯m pretty sure mister Bhav is in for quite the evening tonight. ¡°They¡¯re idiots, so we managed without incident, but women can¡¯t really deal well with this.¡± ¡°Maybe I should take this opportunity to develop something like a gas mask?¡± Upon trembling at the danger it presents to women, an idiotic voice resounded through the room. ¡°Uwaaah! I can¡¯t be a bride no moooore~¡± It would seem Livyatan came back to her senses too. Well then, I wonder if we can take her back to the inn for some interrogation time? Chapter 69: Escape Trick Chapter 69: Escape Trick Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations We restrained Livyatan, and upon handing her over to the knight order¡¯s headquarters, we were publicly relieved of our burden. The members of Forest Bear had their relief clearly written on their faces. We received our reward and were leaving the headquarters behind us. Livyatan was securely restrained, and is now being shoved into an underground prison. It¡¯s always under watch, so she shouldn¡¯t be able to get away so easily this time. Though I do have a guess at how she pulled off her vanishing act last time. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to her I wonder?¡± ¡°Who knows? But we did catch her before she caused any major damage, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll get too heavy a punishment, right?¡± I lightly replied to mister Jack¡¯s slight worry. The only real damages would be the costs of hiring security. And as a bit of peace on that part, she only targeted the treasures of rich people who had neglected their security anyway. If they had been a little more strict, this case would be¡­ Hum? ¡°Unexpectedly, maybe that was her aim?¡± ¡°What was her aim?¡± ¡°To warn the rich people who had relaxed their guard and could have been attacked at any time.¡± Thanks to her running amok, the unprotected treasures now have guards posted to them. The people she didn¡¯t target, and the ones who have similar things also became more cautious. Since this city was originally built up from a magnanimous fishing village, they had little reason for caution before, so this new trend could be considered a good thing. Moreover, we also¡­ We let Yig rely on his own powers of self-defense, and probably were a little too free in leaving him to himself. ¡°Well, this is all based on hindsight though.¡± With light steps, I left the headquarters. ~*~ Now, this may be a bit abrupt, but let¡¯s talk about [Enchanting] a bit. Weapon and armor enhancing [Enchanting]. The ability to radically and temporarily raise their effectiveness is a realm magicians are most questioned about. Well, I leave unfinished holes in magic tools and make their effects persistent when I create them, but anyway¡­ Magic used for [Enchanting] can be roughly divided into five things. [Toughness], [Strengthening], [Sharpness], [Acceleration], and [Reinforcement]. First, about [Toughness]. Needless to say, it¡¯s magic that increases how solid a material is. If a blade becomes more solid, it cuts more easily, and there¡¯s no more worry of it deteriorating. If it¡¯s cast on armor or shields, it can even increase their defensive power. It could be considered the most convenient [Enchant] out of them. But in exchange, its effect is not quite as high. Next is [Strengthening]. It¡¯s magic that grants flexibility and durability to a material that is normally hard. It¡¯s easy to understand if you look at the [Enchantments] on ¡°Third Eye¡±, but with this magic, even crystal can become bendable. Like I said, it raises both its ability to bend and its durability. If this is cast on a brittle steel or crystal sword, it will be entrusted with flexibility, and demonstrate a tremendous cutting edge. However, there are many swordsmen who don¡¯t like how it feels subtly off, so there are parts of it that aren¡¯t well received. For leather armor and the like, rather than using [Toughness], this would probably be the better enhancement. Next is [Sharpness]. It¡¯s magic that could be considered an [Enchant] within an [Enchant]. Limited to bladed items, it strengthens the blade¡¯s cutting ability, making it a truly orthodox strengthening magic. If I cast this on an ordinary knife, then it ends up able to cut through a dragon¡¯s flesh. The big drawback is that it has no effect on weapons without blades, such as maces, war hammers, and other relatively easy to use classes of weapons. A more novel one is [Acceleration]. This doesn¡¯t directly enhance a weapon¡¯s power, but [Accelerates] its velocity when the weapon is swung, resulting in a large display of power. In terms of simple power enhancement, this could be considered the top among them all. However, the sudden [Acceleration] normally throws off a person¡¯s balance, giving it an incredibly quirky utilization. That quirkiness may very probably cause fatal openings. In pursuit of power, ¡°Cleaver¡± and my ¡°Modified Iron Arrows¡± are [Enchanted] with this. And lastly is [Reinforcement]. My trump card, [Body Reinforcement] is actually derived from this magic. Its effect is to ¡°[Reinforce] the target object¡¯s abilities.¡± With this, a weapon¡¯s power, an armor¡¯s defensive power, and even a bow¡¯s propelling force can be reinforced. Long hammers, war hammers, bows and the like will probably have to be improved using this magic. However, only one aspect can be [Reinforced]. For example, if a gauntlet¡¯s defensive power is [Reinforced], punching attacks made with that gauntlet won¡¯t be strengthened. It¡¯s magic that doesn¡¯t lend itself to situational adaptation. Now, as for why I¡¯m thinking about this right now¡­ ~*~ We were just leaving the headquarters and with that exact timing we heard a ruckus from inside the building. ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem! Livyatan got away!¡± ¡°Again?!¡± ¡°She vanished like smoke!¡± Just as I thought¡­ Except it seems a little too early. She¡¯s surprisingly impatient. It probably would have been safe if she ran away just a bit later, too. This really must have something to do with her intentions. ¡°Boy oh boy. Should we head back?¡± ¡°Back? Our job is already done.¡± ¡°Eh, let¡¯s just call it aftercare.¡± With a quick spin, we change directions and go into the headquarters. We asked the uproarious knights to take us to the underground prison. ¡°You guys! My apologies. You managed to catch her for us, and yet here we are in this predicament¡­¡± There stood the knight, sir Byzak, practically crying tears of blood as he trembled in disgrace. I really do feel a little sorry for him. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You haven¡¯t opened the prison yet, have you?¡± ¡°N-no. We must verify it first of course.¡± ¡°Then lead us there please. It¡¯s quite possible that she¡¯s still in there you know?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I could think of a number of possible ways she could have gotten away. ¡ªThe first possibility: She can use teleportation magic like us. Except I can only say this is barely a possibility. Teleportation magic is something Haster and I developed based on a trap pulled out of a labyrinth. Even if she¡¯s a ¡°Peerless Magic¡± holder, developing it on her own would be difficult. ¡ªThe second possibility: She used optical magic to make herself disappear. This isn¡¯t impossible, but executing it would probably be a bit difficult. Using optical magic to make yourself disappear is simple, but when you move, the magic process can¡¯t keep up. In other words, you would have to move very slowly. The knights opening the prison, going through the door and looking around would be incredibly tough to avoid. ¡ªAnd the last possibility: That is, she used [Reinforcement] on herself. After heading down the underground stairs and coming to the cell, I confirm that the door is still locked. There was no trace of the lock having been broken open. It was indeed still nice and fine. When I took a look through the latticed prison cell, there was no trace of the distinctive distortions of optical magic. ¡°Very nicely done.¡± ¡°I have no excuse for this disgrace¡­¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m going to use a bit of magic, okay?¡± Saying so, I create a [Heat Ball] within the cell, without waiting for a reply. The temperature is a nice high 100 degrees. It¡¯s like a little sauna. We set some chairs in front of the prison, and drink some cold tea with sir Byzak. ¡°Umm¡­ What¡¯s this about?¡± ¡°Yuuri, what the hell are you doing?¡± ¡°Well, sir Byzak, mister Jack, don¡¯t be in such a panic, please. If my guess is correct, then she¡¯s still in there.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Yes, there¡¯s a possibility for her that doesn¡¯t involve teleportation or optical magic. And that is¡ª ¡°She may have [Reinforced] her ¡°Recognition Blocking¡± gift.¡± ¡°[Reinforced] a gift?!¡± ¡°[Reinforcement] magic can only enhance one ability. What would happen if that one ability was a gift I wonder? What if her ¡°Recognition Blocking¡± was strengthened even further, and it didn¡¯t just block out her face, but her entire self?¡± ¡°Is something like that even possible?¡± ¡°Gifts are powerful enough on their own. It¡¯s probably hard to even consider what it would mean if they were strengthened further.¡± ¡°But her gift should have been sealed.¡± ¡°She has ¡°Peerless Magic¡± you know? If she really wants to, she could probably cancel it out whenever she pleased.¡± It¡¯s not as if the gift sealing shackles sealed her magic away too, so she should be able to detach them whenever she wants. And if the gift is enhanced, it¡¯s possible for her to ¡°become unseen¡± without having her movement restricted. Most of all, her abilities aren¡¯t as off-kilter as mine, so she can probably only keep it up for about ten minutes at best, but for her, that should easily be enough time to open the lock, too. Naturally, she probably couldn¡¯t open it while under the gazes of the knights, so she should still be hiding. ¡°Seeing as Haster produced [Body Reinforcement] from his long life on the battlefield, it would not be strange for her to think up [Gift Reinforcement].¡± ¡°If ya know all that, then could ya stop roastin¡¯ me, gosh darnit?!¡± Miss Levy unexpectedly appeared in a corner of the room with sweat steadily dripping from her. Her clothes are sticking to her from the sweat. It¡¯s kinda sexy. ¡°Good evening, miss Levy. I think it was very upstanding of me not to launch a [Fireball] in there instead.¡± ¡°Huuu¡­ Orc fluids are on the table for ya, roastin¡¯ me as punishment is on the table for ya; that there is playin¡¯ dirty, Yuuri¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even sell you over to a slave merchant while you were still in heat. That¡¯s pretty humanitarian of me, right?¡± ¡°Are ya the devil?!¡± ¡°Oh, real hell isn¡¯t anything as simple as that¡­¡± I glared at her with crazed, bottomless eyes. They¡¯re eyes I can make by recalling five years ago¡­ Haster gave his seal of confirmation that my dead fish-like, or perhaps shark-like eyes had an impact which couldn¡¯t be laughed off. Now then, there¡¯s something more important for now. ¡°Sir Byzak, could I ask a favor of you?¡± ¡°Wh-what is it?¡± ¡°This girl. Could you hand her over to me?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It would seem that she has something to talk with me about. It¡¯s probably related to this series of disturbances too.¡± ¡°¡­ Ya saw through that too, huh?¡± Notices and behavior that indicate she has no intention of stealing anything. Attempting a prison break before waiting for us to even leave. This is full of inconsistencies. ¡°That is something that really is not within my discretion¡­¡± ¡°I suppose not. Then could you pass this along to your superior? The [Sage of Wind¡¯s Successor], Yuuri Albine wants this girl.¡± ¡°Wha-, you¡¯re?!¡± ¡°People usually think of an old man or old woman when they hear ¡°sage¡±, so I guess my image doesn¡¯t really fit.¡± ¡°Yeah, I had heard your predecessor took a wife and let her succeed him, so I expected a beauty who was more of age¡­¡± ¡°Hey, leave off! Yeah, I¡¯m a loli, okay?!¡± And an eternal one at that! I have a cliff without dreams or hope or romance to it, okay?! ¡°Uh, well, yes, I will try discussing her situation. I think it should work out.¡± ¡°Yeah, probably. A prisoner who can hide her existence is hardly manageable.¡± ¡°As such, could you wait a bit without hiding for me?¡± ¡°Sure can. If ya¡¯ll are gonna let me out, I can wait as long as ya need.¡± She was released early the next morning. They really didn¡¯t want to deal with her, huh? Chapter 70: Her Reason Chapter 70: Her Reason Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: It¡¯s a bit in the middle of things, but this will conclude the third act. --------------------------------------------------------------- Well then, it¡¯s the next day. With me taking her in, miss Levy received a safe acquittal. ¡°Hum, when it comes to captured phantom thieves, having them take on erotic training until their eyes are dead would have been standard though¡­¡± ¡°Standard from what kinda place?!¡± ¡°Two-dimensional dream novels from my hometown.¡± ¡°The hell?! That there¡¯s a scary hometown, Yuuri!!¡± Well, that¡¯s in works of fiction, but there¡¯s no reason I need to tell her that. Aside from her and me, Haster and Yig are the only ones in the room right now The members of Forest Bear immediately launched into their celebration last night, and are now dead drunk. Besides, whether ¡°her story¡± is something she wants outsiders to hear or not is hardly something for me to decide, right? ¡°Leaving that aside¡­ There¡¯s something we absolutely must do first.¡± ¡°Somethin¡¯ important?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ By the way, what should we call you? Miss Levy? Livyatan?¡± ¡°Levy¡¯ll be right fine. See, ¡®nother way to say Livyatan is Leviathan. I just turned that there into a nickname to call myself Levy.¡± Huh, I¡¯m pretty sure¡­ That was another way to say it back on the other side too, right? Well, with that out of the way, let¡¯s get right to what needs to be done first. ¡°Then miss Levy, here.¡± I hand some pliers-like scissors from the desk over to her. ¡°Y-ya¡¯ll ain¡¯t gonna¡­ Torture me or some such, are ya?¡± ¡°What would even make you think that? I¡¯m telling you to clip your nails!¡± What I passed to her were this world¡¯s nail clippers. They are not pliers for use in torture. I don¡¯t enjoy feeling pain, or watching people feel pain either. Well, I think I would watch someone in painful situations just a bit though. ¡°Uhhh¡­ Why?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t exactly leave you to your own devices. I¡¯m your guardian now, so I need to be aware of where you are.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that to do with clippin¡¯ my nails?¡± ¡°You have ¡°Peerless Magic,¡± right? Then those nails should have some potential as magic materials. I¡¯m going to turn those clippings into powder, mix it in with ink, and have you tattooed with a [Transmitter] magic circle.¡± ¡°Uwee, ya¡¯s gonna tattoo me? I ain¡¯t so good with paaaiin.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a fan of pain either. I¡¯ll cast [Analgesia] on you though, so you¡¯re just gonna have to deal with having this done.¡± Seeing as she can jam others¡¯ awareness of her, she could lose herself in a crowd whenever she wanted. Moreover, because she has ¡°Peerless Magic,¡± she would probably just remove any superficial magic tools. In which case the only choice is to tattoo it into somewhere on her that she can¡¯t see. However, spells tattooed into the skin have weak effects according to what I heard from Haster¡¯s stories. So I devised the method of dissolving her nails into the ink as an amplifying agent, and using that to do the tattooing. In truth, Haster¡¯s, Yig¡¯s, or my own nails would have served that purpose better, but I¡¯ve heard that having other peoples¡¯ cells under the skin will cause it to fester, so¡­ ¡°Th-this¡¯ll be my first time, see; be gentle with it¡­¡± ¡°Shut up. I¡¯ve had a traumatic experience with that.¡± This wench is messing with me. I am now certain of it. I didn¡¯t even have the chance to make that kind of entreaty. After powdering and dissolving the nail clippings into the ink, and then drawing the magic circle on the back of her neck, I cast [Analgesia] and shallowly burned it in. ¡°I think it will hurt after a little while, but when that happens you¡¯ll have to cast [Analgesia] yourself. Do you know the spell formula?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t had much experience with medical magic¡­¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll teach you.¡± ¡°¡®preciate it.¡± Anyway, with this on, her whereabouts will be leaked to me. She probably won¡¯t be able to commit evil deeds now. To make sure the burns don¡¯t get infected, I wrapped some bandaging around the wound while explaining the spell formula to her. I didn¡¯t really want to scar a woman¡¯s skin, but I have no other method. Besides, something like this should be able to be healed nicely after a little while. Although it would be difficult for her to do since she can¡¯t see the affected area. ¡°If I determine you¡¯ve completely rehabilitated, I¡¯ll erase it for you.¡± ¡°Oh, ya¡¯ll are gonna erase it for me? Yippee! I¡¯ll be an upstandin¡¯ person from now on!¡± ¡°That decision depends on what happens from now on. By the way, if you commit any crimes, I¡¯ll pickle you in orc fluids and send you off to slavery. I¡¯m certain it will be an excellent experience for you.¡± ¡°How fiendish are ya?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s just cute stuff compared to what I¡¯ve been through.¡± ¡°Ya lyin¡¯ now?!¡± ¡°Now on to the next topic. You never intended on stealing things from the start, did you?¡± ¡°Aw, figured me out?¡± Of course I did. Mistaking the date and mistaking houses aside¡­ Er, actually those are pretty ridiculous parts of the story too. But returning the mistakenly stolen cat statue in the second incident would normally be unbelievable. ¡°Whelp, this here city¡¯s got lots o¡¯ security problems, y¡¯see. So I figured I¡¯d warn ¡¯em along with my original goal.¡± ¡°And that original goal is?¡± ¡°I jus¡¯ wanted to be ya¡¯ll¡¯s friend, Yuuri.¡± She twists her body around while her cheeks dye red. That¡¯s gross. Stop. ¡°Yig, go ahead and bite her.¡± ¡°Agya-!¡± ¡°Oowowow! ¡®s a joke! Was jus¡¯ a joke!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s almost painful how much I understand the feeling of wanting to tease Yuuri, but there¡¯s hardly a reason to hide things at this point, is there?¡± ¡°What exactly are you trying to say, Haster?¡± ¡°You are sooo cute, Yuuri.¡± ¡°HyaWAAaaa?!¡± He rubs his cheek against me while holding my head. Stop it, please! My hair! You¡¯re ruining it! And while you¡¯re at it, stop pressing your hips against me. We¡¯re being watched. ¡°Auuhh, I¡¯m all sticky an¡¯ drooly now. Naw, but that ain¡¯t far from the truth to be honest, see?¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying you seriously just wanted to become friends with me?¡± ¡°Bein¡¯ more precise, jus¡¯ gettin¡¯ acquainted is all. Had kinda a request.¡± ¡°And so you made this huge fuss just for that¡­?¡± ¡°Got it from a certain source, said ¡°To become a trusted friend, start as rivals, and ya¡¯ll¡¯s friendship will be deeper¡± ¡®s what I heard.¡± So she¡¯s saying she caused this whole phantom thief uproar just to become my rival? This girl really is a dumbass. ¡°You have ¡°Peerless Magic¡± though. If you just appeared in front of Yuuri normally as a magician, you could have become rivals that way.¡± ¡°But c¡¯mon, Yuuri¡¯s magic power is jus¡¯ gosh darn stupid.¡± ¡°Yeah, gotta agree there.¡± ¡°Could you not agree with her?!¡± What preposterous things are you saying, Haster?! I¡¯m normal, completely normal. I just have about 180 times a normal person¡¯s magic and mental power, with the physical abilities of a 10 year old! That¡¯s all! ¡­ My body doesn¡¯t grow, so my physical abilities won¡¯t grow either¡­ ¡°Like what sorta crazy things did ya¡¯ll do t¡¯ make it so ri-damn-diculous¡­?¡± ¡°A lot of stuff happened. A whole lot¡­ Would you like to experience it? I won¡¯t stop you.¡± ¡°Uh, think I¡¯ll jus¡¯ pass on this one.¡± Well, without the ¡°Revival Growth¡± gift, it wouldn¡¯t turn out like this of course. She doesn¡¯t have any similar gift either, which means it would be over when she died on the very first day. ¡°So then, what is it you wanted from us?¡± ¡°Ah¡ª, umm¡­ Well, should be fine now, yeah?¡± She tilted her head, seemingly worrying over something. What did she mean by ¡°now¡± I wonder? Does it involve some sort of time restriction? ¡°Truth is¡­ I want ya¡¯ll to face the labyrinth in the World Tree.¡± ¡°Say what?¡± The labyrinth in the World Tree? The one Haster wanted to challenge? ¡°Ya¡¯ll know there¡¯s a labyrinth in the World Tree, yeah?¡± ¡°Yeah, of course. I was thinking of challenging it myself, actually.¡± ¡°Ooh, right fine timing! I¡¯m better than I thought.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any reason to now, though.¡± ¡° Aw, fiddlesticks¡­¡± She blatantly dropped her shoulders. Quite the reactive girl. ¡°Well, let¡¯s be leavin¡¯ that aside.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t set my circumstances aside.¡± ¡°A sprout¡¯s at the peak o¡¯ the World Tree. Truth is, it ain¡¯t always there when ya reach the top. It only buds one time every hundred years.¡± ¡°You sure know a lot about it, huh?¡± ¡°Got the info from a certain source.¡± This is the second time she¡¯s mentioned it, but she sure does seem to put a lot of stock in this ¡°certain source¡±. If it¡¯s a highly accurate source of information, then I would like in on it too. ¡°So what is that certain source you mentioned?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Could ya¡¯ll let me off on that one? I got some obligations o¡¯ my own too.¡± ¡°Hrm, well as long as that ¡°certain source¡± isn¡¯t related to any criminal activity, I guess it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Thank ya kindly. So, as I was sayin¡¯, that there sprout only buds once in a hundred years an¡¯ only for a year¡¯s time. After that it grows all at once an¡¯ turns into a branch. So anyone goin¡¯ after it¡¯ll need to aim for that one year.¡± ¡°And this year happens to be that one year?¡± ¡°Naw, should be¡­ Right about five years from now.¡± ¡°Quite the advance notice you¡¯re giving us.¡± If it¡¯s five years away, then she hardly needed to contact us in such a rush. And now she¡¯s a criminal thanks to that. ¡°Well that ain¡¯t entirely true. May be five years, but the labyrinth is 1000 floors, y¡¯hear? Ya¡¯ll would have to clear 200 floors a year. I reckon that¡¯s pretty late.¡± ¡°There should be plenty of cleared floors already though. If I remember right¡­ They should have gone around 200 floors up.¡± ¡°That still ain¡¯t no more than 20 percent. Remainder¡¯d take a one floor per two days pace. It¡¯s right possible ya¡¯ll would never make it.¡± ¡°And so you wanted to drag us into being your companion for this?¡± ¡°When it comes to skilled magicians who are currently free, and not adventurers, the Sage title holder, Yuuri is most suitable.¡± ¡°That¡¯s kinda annoying.¡± ¡°Well, that ain¡¯t actually all.¡± What is it I wonder? At the end of everything she says, she seems to get stuck on something¡­ ¡°So then, your true objective is that sprout, is that what you¡¯re saying?¡± ¡°Hmmm, not quite, I reckon?¡± ¡°You mean eating the sprout to gain ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡± isn¡¯t your motive?¡± ¡°Naw, I don¡¯t need that. ¡°Eternal Youth¡± an¡¯ ¡°Immortality,¡± that kinda thing¡¯s pretty lonely, yeah?¡± She seemed to look off somewhere in the distance as she spoke. Even though she¡¯s mostly klutzy and friendly, she was sometimes getting this kind of transcendental look in her eyes. ¡°Do you know what it¡¯s like?¡± ¡°What¡¯s like?¡± ¡°The loneliness of ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡±.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ I know about.¡± She once again tilted her head. Rather than something she doesn¡¯t want to talk about, it seems more like she¡¯s worried about how to explain something. ¡°If ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡± aren¡¯t your goals, then¡­ Are you trying to sell it?¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t no price that could be put on it. ¡®sides, jus¡¯ carryin¡¯ it ¡¯round would get dangerous types after my life. I ain¡¯t even gonna collect it.¡± ¡°Then what are you after?¡± ¡°Bein¡¯ more precise, rather than sayin¡¯ it ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ I want, there¡¯s someone I don¡¯t want gettin¡¯ their hands on it¡ªis what I should say, I guess?¡± ¡°There¡¯s someone you don¡¯t want getting it?¡± ¡°Sure is. The Demon King.¡± Saying so, she broadly puffed out her chest. Hah? What¡¯s this about a Demon King? Chapter 71: Interlude The Melancholy of the Demon King Chapter 71: Interlude The Melancholy of the Demon King Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations ¡°Shit, where the hell did I go wrong!?¡± In confused frustration, I threw the silver goblet from my hand down the floor. The goblet collapsed, was crushed, flattened, and stuck to the floor from the impact. The polished marble floor was unable to bear the impact, and a small crater formed in it. It¡¯s the effect from one of the gifts I hold, ¡°Strong Arm.¡± ¡°Your majesty, what might be troubling you?¡± ¡°Every single goddamn thing!¡± I answered crudely to my subordinate, waiting nearby. Yeah, a subordinate¡­ It¡¯s already been two years since I came to this world. I¡¯ve made a multitude of subordinates. I was filled with hopes and dreams after being sent off to another world. A world of swords and magic, monsters and dragons, plus demi-humans like elves and dwarves. I also held multiple powers called gifts. There were three that I had. ¡°Strong Arm¡± to beat down enemies, ¡°Full Guard¡± to endure all attacks, and ¡°Magical Talent¡± so I can use magic spells. After beginning my activities in this world, I had intended on building up a harem by buying blonde elf or silver haired little girl slaves, and having them praise me, saying ¡°Master is so amazing!¡± ¡°And yet, what did I get¡­? The second I reached this world, I was attacked by monsters. There was no heroine or anything like one for me to save.¡± It¡¯s not even as if the monsters were frightening. In truth, their attacks couldn¡¯t get through my ¡°Full Guard,¡± and I laid them flat with ¡°Strong Arm¡± easily. I mowed down the monsters who came to attack, beat the shit out of them, and before I knew it, I started being worshiped by them¡­ ¡°And now I¡¯m the Demon King?¡± ¡°Yes, my lord. The most powerful being in this world.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s bothering me.¡± These aren¡¯t even close to heroines. These things at my side don¡¯t even have human forms. At best there are the ones with the lower halves of snakes, lamia, or of squids, scylla. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t there at least some beautiful vampire girls, or mature succubus women around?¡± ¡°Might you be seeking concubines? The vampires are of rather independent character, and are not joined to our camp. The succubi similarly¡­ My deepest apologies.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t there any cat-eared or dog-eared women?¡± ¡°We do have kobolds and lycanthropes among us.¡± ¡°Those are ENTIRELY beasts!¡± Yeah, someone at the animal level of Mrs. Hudson is seriously not my thing. ¡°We do have several candidates among the ghosts.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even fucking touch them!¡± It was stupid of me to even try asking an aide who has the body of a skeleton¡­ ¡°Shall we assault the fairy village?¡± ¡°That would make us the villains.¡± ¡°You are the Demon King.¡± ¡°Oh, right¡­ That¡¯s not the point!¡± Who would praise someone that attacked their village and forcibly carried them off?! These guys are too used to the law of ¡®survival of the fittest.¡¯ They don¡¯t get the subtleties of a harem at all. ¡°Certainly your majesty is of mortal body. I believe it is reasonable to consider solving the problem of inheritance now, while you are full of vim and vigor.¡± ¡°Shoulda freakin¡¯ asked for ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡± in that case.¡± ¡°That should be no problem though. If your majesty is dissatisfied with creating a successor, then your majesty need simply obtain ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality¡±.¡± ¡°Can that kinda thing even be done?¡± ¡°We have been left with tales saying it can be done by consuming the sprout of the World Tree.¡± Oh¡­? So there¡¯s a way to get eternal life after the fact? This is music to my ears. ¡°The World Tree is that ridiculously huge tree, right?¡± Its enormous shape, which practically stretches up to heaven, can be seen to the south of this monster-filled country. If I eat that thing¡¯s sprout, then I can become immortal, too. ¡°The World Tree¡¯s sprout is a valuable item which only grows once every hundred years. According to my calculations, it should take form roughly five years from now.¡± ¡°Then hurry, gather the troops, and¡­¡± ¡°About that¡­ To obtain the sprout, once must climb to the top of the tree. It is at a height which not our garudas, nor harpies, nor even our rocs can reach.¡± Garudas and harpies are types of bird people. Rocs are giant bird monsters that are tens of meters long. They¡¯re all specialists in flight, but¡­ Well, just by looking, that huge tree is probably taller than where there¡¯s any decent air. ¡°Consequently, the labyrinth built within its trunk must be surpassed to climb the tree.¡± ¡°Why is there a labyrinth in the tree¡¯s trunk?¡± ¡°In this world, it is said that those which hold magical power build labyrinths to protect themselves. However, the truth of the matter is unknown.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s a type of defense mechanism then.¡± ¡°At one time, we are told a hero brought a thousand braves along to achieve conquest of it. However, in response the World Tree¡¯s defenses strengthened. Only a fraction of that number are now allowed to enter at once.¡± ¡°Tsk, left us to deal with the trouble, huh.¡± Only a fraction of that, huh? Guess I can¡¯t just send a horde of monsters at it then. Well, nothing can impede my ¡°Herculean Strength¡± of course. ¡°Moreover the country of people at the foot of it strictly limit entrance to it. I believe overwhelming it with our army would be impossible.¡± ¡°How obnoxious. Why don¡¯t we just crush that country?¡± ¡°With your majesty¡¯s power that may be possible, but regrettably it is an important country in the center of the continent. Were their strength to weaken, the surrounding nations would wisely come to involve themselves in the affair.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pain too¡­ Ah, hell, guess we¡¯ll do things their way.¡± It¡¯s not like I¡¯m trying to start a war. If I can just obtain eternal life, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get the opportunity to buy a blonde elf of silver haired little girl slave at some point. Oh¡ª, a cat-eared beast woman might be good too. ¡°So we just need to go with a few people. How many can we have?¡± ¡°Six people are allowed. However, considering it is managed by a country of humans, we will require those who can take on human guise if we are to avoid causing problems.¡± ¡°This is such a pain¡­ Choose some skilled lycanthropes, and guys who can use magic to transform into people for me. Five of ¡¯em.¡± ¡°Five¡­ Meaning your majesty will go himself?¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t go, then who will?¡± ¡°As you command.¡± ~*~ ¡°Achoo!¡± Assaulted by a sudden chill, I reflexively sneezed. Haster¡¯s face in front of me took the sneeze full on. ¡°Uh, sorry about that.¡± ¡°Err¡­ Sneezing in the middle of a kiss¡­ Am I actually that bad?¡± ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m head over heels for you, you know? I had a sudden tingling in my spine, and it just happened.¡± ¡°As long as that¡¯s all¡­¡± I twined my hands around his neck and brought my face closer for a do-over. Then a question about my appearance came to mind. ¡°Haster, do I have to wear this collar?¡± ¡°Do you want to take it off? I wanted it to show as proof that you belong to me though.¡± ¡°For goodness sake, you hardly need to¡­ But, I guess it¡¯s fine then.¡± I don¡¯t really enjoy looking like a slave, but if it¡¯s his slave, then that¡¯s a bit more¡­ It¡¯s a little distorted, but it¡¯s proof of his affection. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: I hold no malice towards Mrs. Hudson. I actually really like her lol Chapter 72: Interlude Let’s Go Swimming Chapter 72: Interlude Let¡¯s Go Swimming Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: Before getting to the main story, I wanted to write something flirty and erotic, so this happened¡­ --------------------------------------------------------------- It¡¯s. Time. To. Swim! The case with miss Levy was taken care of, and I was free on this sunny day, which means it was high time we should hurry out to play around. Beneath the sparkling sunlight shining down on me, I spread my arms wide and shouted aloud! ¡°It¡¯s hot! In fact, it hurts! How am I supposed to wear a swimsuit in thiiis?!¡± ¡­ The blazing sun¡¯s rays were practically a weapon. ~*~ ¡°We finally took the time to go to the beach, and yet what are you doing?¡± ¡°The sun is hot, it hurts, and it¡¯s going to turn my skin bright red, so I¡¯m hiding.¡± Underneath a large umbrella¡ªused as a beach parasol stand-in¡ªI had wrapped myself in Haster¡¯s shirt (adult sized). It¡¯s no wonder it killed his swimming mood. ¡°Don¡¯t they have suntan oil or something in this world¡­?¡± ¡°Oil? Are you going to fry some meat or something?¡± ¡°That conceptualization is off, but part of it is correct.¡± They probably haven¡¯t thought much about protecting their skin yet. Besides, the sand is too hot to walk on more than a little bit. ¡°Well, it certainly is hot, now that we¡¯re here. But it¡¯ll be nice and cool in the water.¡± ¡°Yeah, it probably will be, but¡­ Aw, sheesh, this is a hassle. Haster, could you take me there?¡± ¡°What would you do without me?¡± He swiftly removed my shirt¡­ Yeah, he¡¯s gotten really used to removing my clothes by now¡­ And then took me in a princess carry over to the sea. ¡°Ah, what about little ol¡¯ me?¡± ¡°You sit there and watch our stuff, Levy.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t that a bit cruel?!¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave Yig with you.¡± ¡°That don¡¯t amount to a lick o¡¯ shit!¡± ¡°Shagya¡ª!¡± I left Yig, whose intimidating cry seemed to be asking if she had any complaints. Now our belongings should be secure. He doesn¡¯t seem to enjoy cold water anyway, so there are no gripes from him. ¡°E¡¯en though I done gone all out with a swimsuit an¡¯ all.¡± ¡°I went all out too, you know?¡± ¡°That swimsuit just ain¡¯t fair.¡± Is there some problem with my school swimsuit? I¡¯ve got the bib on and right, don¡¯t I? By the way, miss Levy is looking pretty stylish. Her figure is trained to maintain her agility, and coupled with her petite stature, it gives her the impression that she has the suppleness of a cat. Her chest and stuff aren¡¯t all that large, but they are clearly present, and if not for how short she was, she could probably have been considered a model. Her expression is like a cat sleeping in the sunlight, and her body has the supple quality of a wild cat¡­ I want to put cat ears on her. Meow, meow. And that very woman is wearing a bikini without too much exposure, so the surrounding gazes are gathering so much it hurts. ¡°It looks like I may have to take a bath together with her later, Gufufufu.¡± ¡°Then me too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not allowed, Haster. You go into beast mode whenever you¡¯re in the bath, see?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right for her to see, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone else seeing you.¡± ¡°Ya¡¯ll just go explode!¡± Fufufu, the tears of the have-nots bring me such joy. Leaving her there, I went to over to the water, but¡­ ¡°Come to think of it, can you swim, Yuuri?¡± ¡°I may have been raised inland, but I could swim more than 200 meters in elementary school. That won¡¯t be a problem!¡± ¡°That confidence actually worries me¡­¡± ¡°Oh, now you¡¯ve said it, huh? Then watch and be amazed at my magnificent swimming!¡± Upon saying so, I jumped from his arms, and began swimming towards the open sea. ~*~ ¡°¡­ Are you satisfied?¡± ¡°Wheeze, wheeze¡­¡± ¡°The very basic idea that someone who can¡¯t even run 100 meters would be able to swim 200 is just ridiculous, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Cough, cough cough.¡± ¡°By the way, you haven¡¯t even gone 20 meters yet.¡± ¡°M-my legs! My legs can¡¯t reach the ground?!¡± ¡°Oh, but if you cling on to me now, I¡¯ll go into beast mode.¡± ¡°Are you a demon?!¡± ¡°Joking.¡± Sure, I had my pride, but I didn¡¯t want to drown, so I had him lend me his shoulders to cling to. I swam about 20 meters, but the depth of the water must have surpassed 1 meter. My height cuts off at 130 centimeters, so my feet won¡¯t reach the seafloor at this depth. For a normal person it would be just the right depth for swimming, so crowds were still all around us. ¡°Well, to be honest I¡¯m surprised you managed to swim this far.¡± ¡°Just how lacking in athleticism do you think I am? I may not have much strength, but I¡¯m actually pretty good at athletics.¡± ¡°Lies should be told by people who are good at it.¡± ¡°Kgh, I¡¯m telling you, my reflexes aren¡¯t that bad!¡± I truth, this body¡¯s dynamic vision and reflexes are more on the sharp side. Even so, I immediately fall over when I run, and drop things that I carry. I can only see this as very strange. ¡°Isn¡¯t that just because you¡¯re inattentive?¡± ¡°My powers of observation are really sharp!¡± ¡°Observation and attention are two different things.¡± ¡°Grrrrr¡­¡± But I guess I really am lacking in attentiveness. Like now, how we are grabbing an awful lot of notice from our surroundings, and I wasn¡¯t aware. Yeah, hugging each other directly from the front and flirting is bound to attract the attention of others! ¡°Whaawa?!¡± Panicking at the surrounding gazes, I pushed him away and once again began drowning. He exasperatedly presented his back to me, offering to carry me. ¡°Can¡¯t be helped, I¡¯ll carry you to where your feet can reach the ground.¡± ¡°Uuu, sorry.¡± Clinging to his now thoroughly thinned out body, I had him carry me to the shallows. His muscles are thin now, and yet he¡¯s stronger then before. It¡¯s strange. Entrusting myself to his thin, and yet able-bodied back, my heart began thumping a bit. I couldn¡¯t really help that I absently closed my eyes. I couldn¡¯t really help it, but¡­ ¡°Haster, I¡¯m glad we¡¯re getting out of the deeper water, but why are we getting closer to the edge of the beach?¡± ¡°Must be the flow of the waves moving us there. I have no ulterior motives.¡± With my eyes now open, I realized that the number of people around us was decreasing. Ahead of us I could see a seemingly unpopular rocky area. ¡°I see some kind of rocky area where we¡¯re headed.¡± ¡°We¡¯re near the edge now, so there would be places like that.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t, uhh, look very popular, huh?¡± ¡°A rocky area isn¡¯t exactly suited for swimming, after all.¡± ¡°Why are we headed somewhere that isn¡¯t suited for swimming?¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­Because there¡¯s nobody watching there, I guess.¡± Dammit, he¡¯s already in beast mode?! Now that I think about it, I can feel the hands he¡¯s been carrying me with stroking my thighs and butt in a rather sinister¡­ ¡°A-at least wait until we get back to¡­¡± ¡°Yuuri, swimsuits sure are exciting in a strange way, huh?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?! You¡¯ve really been turning into more and more of a fallen sage lately, you know?!¡± ¡°The only one I¡¯m looking at is you, Yuuri, so that¡¯s perfectly fine.¡± ¡°No, it is not¡ªAhya?!¡± The hand he was using to support my butt slipped under my bathing suit. It¡¯s already too late. When all was said and done we began heading back to miss Levy a few hours later. At least there was plenty of water to wash off with, so that¡¯s one saving grace, I guess? ~*~ We decided to have a meal to relieve our fatigue after we finished our bout of hard exercise. While being carried on his back, we ordered at a food stall, and ate together at a table seat. The sea brings thoughts of curry, ramen, large sausages, grilled fish and the like, but neither curry nor ramen exist in this world. In their place, they have noodles and a paella-like fried rice. ¡°Haster, the thing weighing most heavily on my mind is¡­ Why did you make a beeline for the sausage stand?¡± ¡°Er, just because.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer some paella.¡± ¡°Uhh, when you pushed me down a while back, I kinda awakened to a new world. I was thinking, ¡®being licked sure is great,¡¯ and stuff¡­¡± ¡°Forget about thaaaat¡ª!!¡± ¡°That cylinder-shaped frozen sweet might be nice too?¡± At the time I lost my senses, I was skillfully playing in a way that would probably appear in adult DVDs. So then I was thinking about the taste it must have, but¡­ Seeing as I¡¯m a former man, I still have some lingering aversion to that! Well, I¡¯ve heard women have some aversion to it too. ¡°Right, so as a substitute for that.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need that kind of substitute.¡± ¡°Wanna go another round?¡± ¡°Do. Not. Even. Dare!¡± Even while I was angry like that, I ended up licked the frozen sweet for him. I think I might be just as bad as he is at this point. With the last of it, I bit down as fiercely as I could and crushed it in front of him. This is my line of protection. Sure enough, a cold sweat overtook him. Oh, right. We should get something for Yig and miss Levy too. ~*~ The shaking of my legs from fatigue had yet to recover, but for now I let out a sigh. And then, upon heading back with him to where our belongings were, bringing along some souvenirs, a reverse harem had amassed there¡­ What¡¯s going on? A woman was lying on a mat, being waited on by several men while enjoying a drink, and Yig was flipping around in the sand, taking a sand bath. Yig seemed to be in a good mood, as he was having his belly rubbed by women in bathing suits. Miss Levy was striking what could only be called a ¡®sexy pose¡¯ while being fawned over by the male guests. ¡°What the hell are you guys doing?¡± ¡°Ah, welcome back ya¡¯ll?¡± ¡°You sure have some gall to be making a reverse harem while under probation.¡± ¡°Why¡¯re them legs o¡¯ yours all shaky?¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Seeing me barely able to to support myself as I clung to Haster¡¯s arm, she asked that in curiosity. ¡°Swimming takes a lot of energy! I just played around a wee bit too much.¡± ¡°Yeah, we sure did enjoy ourselves. Yep.¡± I sent powerful thwacking punches to his body after he carelessly informed her of that. In reality they felt more like light slaps though. While having me hit his body, he spoke to the surrounding men. ¡°We¡¯re thinking of heading back for the day. Sorry, but I¡¯ll have to ask the spectators to take their leave.¡± ¡°Hah? What¡¯s with you? Brats can go swim somewhere else.¡± Were they thinking he was trying to take her for himself? The guests of poor character bore their fangs at Haster. Even though he doesn¡¯t have even the slightest of such intentions towards her. ¡°She¡¯s under our protective observation.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be makin¡¯ shit up.¡± ¡°Levy, you should think more carefully about the quality of the people you surround yourself with.¡± ¡°You snot-nosed brat!¡± In an indignant rage, the man came over to beat Haster up. Haster calmly readied himself¡­ And then the need to do so vanished. ¡°Shagya¡ª!¡± Suddenly judging the atmosphere to have gone sour, the ever vigilant Yig released a breath towards the man¡¯s feet. Exposed to the long, high temperature breath, a part of the beach melted into glass, and the splash from it jumped to the man¡¯s feet. ¡°Guah, hot! HIEE, my feet¡­?!¡± Bathed in the heated splash, the man fell to the ground, bearing the speckled burn marks. In front of him Yig heroically stood alone. Did he look a bit like a parent? ¡°Gurururu¡­¡± ¡°W-wait! I got it, I¡¯ll go! I¡¯m going already!¡± Unable to stand, the man departed while crawling on the ground. Of course, the other spectators drew back too. ¡°Good work, Yig. Now then, shall we start getting ready to head back?¡± ¡°Agyah!¡± Haster acting as if nothing happened, and beginning preparations is making me pull back a little too, you know? ¡°More extreme than I expected from ya, little Yig.¡± ¡°Fusha?¡± ¡°Yig, didn¡¯t you overdo it a bit?¡± ¡°Ugyu?¡± ¡°Giving a strong threat to guys like that prevents future trouble. They¡¯re just gonna bother other people anyway.¡± He spat that out while watching the other spectators leave in small groups. I apologize to all the people who just enjoyed communicating normally. ¡°Well, let¡¯s leave it at that for today¡­ Wanna come here again tomorrow?¡± ¡°Eh? Can we?¡± ¡°There are swimsuits you haven¡¯t worn yet, right?¡± ¡°So that¡¯s your goal, huh?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± At this rate, it looks like I won¡¯t be able to stand right tomorrow either¡­ --------------------------------------------------------------- Translator¡¯s Note: Next chapter returns to the main story Chapter 73: Party Consideration Chapter 73: Party Consideration Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: The fourth act begins. Suddenly it feels like a game¡­ --------------------------------------------------------------- Let¡¯s talk about this world. The continent we live on is called the Garm Continent, and as for its size, it¡¯s supposed to be roughly comparable to Africa. In a place slightly south to the center of the continent, an enormous tree known as the World Tree towers over everything. What developed around the World Tree was the Kingdom of the Sacred Tree, Novelius. They are acknowledged as the caretakers and protectors of the World Tree, and are the greatest military nation in the world. Many adventurers gather there, setting their sights on the World Tree¡¯s labyrinth, it¡¯s the origin of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and it¡¯s considered the base of the Sacred Tree faith. It truly is the nation at the center of the world. At the west side of the continent is a massive expanse of woodland, where the elves built a kingdom. This is The Forest Kingdom, Raum. 80% of their country is said to be forest, making it almost seem like it was land made for the elves. A variety of medicinal herbs are produced there, and their economy was established with those as their specialty products. To the east stands a mountain range, and beyond it a scattering of small islands. At each of those mountains, and each of the islands, exist small countries. Those countries allied together to form one nation. This is the The United Regions of Matala. It¡¯s mainly made up of dwarves and other demi-humans. Their specialty product is ores infused with magic power, in other words magic stones. The craftsmanship in that country is highly developed. And on the southern end of the continent is The Forneus Federation. In other words, the country we live in. Various city-states, large and small, competing in their growth and increasing their economy. It is the center of economic power. And lastly, the northern end of the continent. The region occupying nearly half of the continent, and largely unexplored. Of course that¡¯s not because people can¡¯t go there. In that region are demi-human type magic beasts, undead, and mythical creatures, but even without those, all kinds of monsters dominate the area. Some humans apparently form small settlements there, but a cycle pervades, wherein if they grow too large, that actually draws the attention of the monsters and they are soon destroyed. Therefore, it¡¯s referred to as the ¡°barbaric region¡± and despised. And a recent arrival in that area is¡ª the ¡°Demon King¡±. He suddenly appeared a few years ago, quelled the surrounding monsters, and stood as the most powerful being in the north; a tyrannical king. Though considering the fact that he brought order to a lawless region, I wonder if we can really call that good or bad? ~*~ Now, we had earnestly spent a week in Cornus playing around. Waking up in the morning and enjoying some shopping, going swimming in the afternoon and being assaulted by Haster, feeling the agony of sunburn at night while being assaulted by Haster¡­ Huh? It¡¯s no different from usual, is it? Well, though the location changed, we continued our depraved lifestyle in that manner, but it was about time for miss Levy to get impatient. ¡°Hey ya¡¯ll, shouldn¡¯t we be makin¡¯ for the World Tree about now?¡± Miss Levy is being annoying, so let¡¯s seriously consider it. First, our party composition. Naturally, I¡¯m in the rear guard. Seeing as I have low physical abilities. I can use [Body Reinforcement] to avoid emergencies, but I would only be able to use it three times a day at best if we¡¯re on a long adventure. I suppose Haster would be in the front guard by process of elimination? He has high physical abilities, and uses a style that mixes magic with skills, giving him plenty of variety. And then miss Levy. Her physical abilities are high, but it would probably be best to put her on trap searching duties. The problem is her ability to find them isn¡¯t so high. If I use ¡°Appraisal¡± on a ¡®space¡¯, I would know where the traps are, so we could probably leave the rest to her, but¡­ That¡¯s not something I can use continually, so in the end we¡¯ll have to improve our sensing abilities. But still, with only three of us¡ª ¡°Hum, we don¡¯t have enough people.¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s only three of us. Should we drag along some people from Forest Bear?¡± ¡°Best not. At their level, it¡¯s like asking them to come along and die, see?¡± Suddenly a fourth person butted into the conversation. Speaking of, when it comes to the World Tree¡¯s labyrinth, this guy should know a thing or two. ¡°Welcome, Bahamut. I see you¡¯re appearing unexpectedly as usual.¡± ¡°Good evening. When I heard ¡°World Tree¡± I figured it was my time to shine!¡± ¡°Kh?!¡± Miss Levy was shocked to the point where she couldn¡¯t speak upon finding a boy suddenly sitting in the chair next to her. Makes sense. ¡°Wh-who¡¯s this here kid?¡± ¡°His name¡¯s Bahamut, and¡­ Well, he¡¯s a specialist when it comes to the World Tree.¡± ¡°Kid¡¯s got the same name as the legendary hero, huh¡­¡± ¡°Because that¡¯s who I am.¡± Upon nonchalantly replying to her, she jumped out of her seat and stuck to the wall. You¡¯re that surprised¡­? Err, actually maybe we¡¯ve just become immune to it I guess. ¡°If you¡¯re here, then our front line is set.¡± When I said that, Haster presented an annoyed look. The one I¡¯ll be relying on most is you, of course, so please don¡¯t make that face. ¡°This makes sure Haster won¡¯t face any difficulties. If we bring him into the mid-line, then our fighting power is stable now.¡± ¡°About that, sadly it won¡¯t go that easily.¡± ¡°Meaning?¡± Bahamut shrugged his shoulders, snatched my cup and filled it with some fragrant tea on his own. Haster was looking at him stormily as usual. ¡°The labyrinths of this world are, in a sense, living creatures. The labyrinth in the World Tree is no exception.¡± ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s a living creature, it has a sort of immunization feature. Because I¡¯ve invaded and cleared the place, I can¡¯t enter the labyrinth anymore.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you draw a map, or assist in some other way?¡± ¡°The structure of the labyrinth itself is one form of its immunization. It¡¯s¡­ Not very flashy, but its appearance can apparently change from moment to moment. All the more reason why adventurers searching the labyrinth are endless, though.¡± So does that mean we¡¯re just going to have to steadily break through each of the 1000 floors¡­? What a pain. While miss Levy and I were looking sullen, Bahamut suddenly pulled a single stone tablet out. ¡°Well, that¡¯s actually where this comes in!¡± ¡°And that is?¡± ¡°A teleportation magic circle I placed just in case while I was exploring it.¡± ¡°Teleportation¡­ But if it has an immunization mechanism, wouldn¡¯t it be normal for it to become useless?¡± ¡°Probably would, if it¡¯s used.¡± That¡¯s when I suddenly noticed. He passed through all 1000 floors in a single excursion. In other words, he hadn¡¯t used the teleportation magic circle even once. If it hasn¡¯t been used, then the immunization didn¡¯t take place? ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is¡ªthat magic circle is still live?¡± ¡°Yep. It¡¯s placed somewhere around floor 900. ¡°If we have to withdraw at this point, getting back here would be tiring in the future,¡± is what I thought and placed it there.¡± ¡°Then if we use that¡­!¡± Miss Levy¡¯s eyes shimmered in response to Bahamut¡¯s remark. He looked at her regretfully as he raised both his hands, palms open and facing her. Why does it seem like some sort of American gesture? ¡°Sadly, right now you all lack the power for it.¡± ¡°Even Yuuri and I?¡± ¡°Even you two. In a straight-up fight you two are pretty powerful, but the setting here is a labyrinth, see? You lack power, experience, and most of all, personnel.¡± ¡°People¡­ huh?¡± It really did come down to that. As far as powerful people go, I guess we¡¯ll have to take Alec along? ¡°We can take Alec along for one¡­ About how many people would we need?¡± ¡°Only up to six people can enter at once now. The World Tree has gotten pretty stingy.¡± ¡°I feel like it being stingy isn¡¯t really the issue. But anyway, that makes four¡­ Now we need two more, then.¡± ¡°The front line will be Alec and I, the back line will be Yuuri and Levy. We shouldn¡¯t have any problems with magic or physical power.¡± ¡°That just leaves a searching type and a healer.¡± The only healers I know are miss Bella from Forest Bear, and Mac from Vulture¡¯s Nest. Maybe it would be best to take applications¡­? ¡°Well, there¡¯s no rush to put the party together. If you use this magic circle, you can get to the top within a month. Which means you have five years to figure it out.¡± ¡°What if we support someone¡¯s growth in that time?¡± ¡°Along with the guild at the foot of the tree, there¡¯s also an adventurer training school. If you choose a promising young talent from there and raise them up, you¡¯ll make it in plenty of time.¡± That¡¯s a helpful line of thought. However¡­ He¡¯s being awfully cooperative, isn¡¯t he? ¡°I mean, this means my number of companions might increase, right? Right now there¡¯s only you two, and the more the merrier!¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­And?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to sit out on something so fun.¡± ¡°I figured it was something like that.¡± But really, nurturing someone, huh¡­? On top of that, an adventurer¡¯s guild school¡­ Hmmm? ¡°Haster, doesn¡¯t this mean we¡¯ll have to register with the guild?¡± ¡°Probably so. If I remember right, the entrance to the World Tree labyrinth is supposed to be restricted to adventurers affiliated with the guild.¡± ¡°If you or I were to join the guild¡­¡± ¡°It would probably turn into a huge ruckus. I mean, we¡¯re some of the top fighting power in the world.¡± ¡°Riiight.¡± I wonder what we should do. My communication-dysfunctional self would prefer to avoid bathing in peoples¡¯ attention as much as possible. Moreover, I was previously known for destroying Lilith. ¡°Not like ya¡¯ll have to register at the guild with a real name, see?¡± ¡°Really now?¡± ¡°Like here, I¡¯m already registered an¡¯ all.¡± Saying so, miss Levy pulled a card from her pocket. The card had a pattern mimicking the world tree, and on it¡ª Registration: Livy Aatan Affiliation: Novelius Headquarters Middle Rank Explorer Highest Level Explored: Floor 102 Was written. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have picked a better pseudonym?¡± ¡°Twist it ¡¯round too much and I wouldn¡¯t be respondin¡¯ to it.¡± ¡°Not much descriptive information, is there?¡± ¡°Main purpose is to be sure ya got a trustworthy adventurer. Where that there trusted authorizin¡¯ came from, and how far they done climbed are important.¡± ¡°So it emphasizes performance over numeric values of a person¡¯s abilities.¡± ¡°Sure does.¡± I just now thought of this, but not all adventurers are out to climb the World Tree. What happens with them? ¡°On a basic level, the adventurer¡¯s guild was established with conquerin¡¯ the World Tree as its goal. Other¡¯n that, each branch just gives out certification. Adventurers who ain¡¯t gone and challenged the World Tree are tendin¡¯ to be taken lightly.¡± ¡°Hum? Then the reason Vulture¡¯s Nest stopped at being middle rank is¡­?¡± ¡°Probably ¡¯cause then hadn¡¯t challenged the World Tree. Or else they hadn¡¯t done performed well on any big jobs. They might¡¯a gotten up to middle rank because they been around for long enough.¡± ¡°I see. And this middle rank is?¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s like a rough indication of an adventurer¡¯s capabilities. Lower rank, middle rank, upper rank, and top rank are the four ranks in how they¡¯n be divided, ¡°so similar talents can be grouped together,¡± is why they do it like that.¡± ¡°If we¡¯re freshly registered, then does that mean we wouldn¡¯t be able to group together with you, miss Levy¡­?¡± ¡°Aaah, guess so. But ya¡¯ll can get to middle rank in no time, bein¡¯ who you are Yuuri.¡± If bringing up a newcomer is our goal, then our rank being low is actually probably more convenient. ¡°So we¡¯ll taken Alec along and proceed to Novelius, register with pseudonyms at the guild, search for some brilliant talents within five years, help them grow¡­ That¡¯s our plan so far?¡± ¡°Looks like it. If such an ill reputed Demon King is aimed for ¡°Eternal Youth¡± and ¡°Immortality,¡± then it¡¯s something we¡¯ll just have to do.¡± Following in this manner, we¡¯ll be challenging the labyrinth. First we¡¯ll have to return to Mareba. Chapter 74: An Unexpected Participant Chapter 74: An Unexpected Participant Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Whatever the case, we¡¯ll have to bring Alec along to even get this started. It¡¯s a good thing that we still have time to spare. We couldn¡¯t use a return magic circle with our carriage, so it was going to take us ten days to get back. We¡¯ve basically been using this carriage for more than three years, so I¡¯ve grown attached to it. The details of what we¡¯re doing weren¡¯t explained to Forest Bear, because I would feel bad about it. They were only told that what she informed us of is pulling us elsewhere, as she is seeking our assistance. ¡ªThere¡¯s no lie there, right? Haster and I were riding in the driver seats, and Yig and miss Levy rode in the luggage area as the carriage strode along. Of course, our party composition was on my mind. I¡¯m fine for short fights, but long battles are something I can¡¯t do. Consequently, the only role I can fulfill well is acting as magic firepower in the rear. Alec is the reverse; he¡¯s specialized only for the front line. Haster and miss Levy can switch positions freely, so our attack power could be considered quite substantial. Next is¡­ ¡°We really need someone for healing.¡± Currently the only ones who can use recovery magic are Haster and myself. Miss Levy has ¡°Peerless Magic,¡± so if I teach her, she should be able to use it to a decent extent, but I can hardly see her as the religious type. ¡°Is there anyone that might be like that around? A skilled healer.¡± ¡°Right¡­ You don¡¯t have much in the way of religious beliefs after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just how I was raised, so I can hardly help it.¡± ¡°What kinda upbringin¡¯ would that be like? Did ya actually come from a different region?¡± ¡°S-something like that. The region and races really were quite a bit different I guess.¡± It¡¯s a secret that I¡¯m from a different world, so I can¡¯t say anything in detail though! Actually, if people in this world are especially religious, then Haster should be able to use healing magic, but¡­ ¡°Oh, I¡¯m kinda of the thought that god is dead. I hardly had room to rely on gods while I was on the battlefield.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, you were a mercenary after all, huh?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was on the battlefield from early childhood. The captain set his sights on me, told me to go to school, and threw me into the knight school. I got a taste of magic there, and switched over to that.¡± ¡°In a sense, he must have had an eye for people.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t have an eye for work, though. That incompetent commander charged into a herd of trolls and got annihilated.¡± I¡¯ve heard there aren¡¯t many wars in this world, but in their place are many forays against monsters and magic beasts. If you can¡¯t see whether a job is good or bad, then you could be used as a sacrificial pawn against monsters that are far stronger than people. ¡°Well, I will protect you, so you can rest easy, okay?¡± ¡°I appreciate it.¡± ¡°Tch!¡± As I said that, I puffed out my chest. He hugged me around my head in response, and roughly stroked my hair. I ignored the vulgar tongue click that I heard. ¡°Ahh, sure would like a nice boyfriend for myself. Ain¡¯t one gonna drop for me down somewhere?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they just fall out of the sky like that, do they?¡± ¡°Yuuri, could ya¡¯ll rent out Haster to me?¡± ¡°Screw off. Want me to kill you?¡± I gently denied her pleasant suggestion. But in spite of many of her appearances, she¡¯s quite the pretty girl¡­ It would probably be best to draw a line in the sand right here. ¡°Haster, if you should happen to lay a hand on her¡­ I¡¯ll have you be my partner without the ring on.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to completely dry me out?!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll suck all the juices out, and then have you faint right before you receive any fatal injuries, of course?¡± ¡°That¡¯s friggin¡¯ scary¡­¡± Well, I don¡¯t think he would betray me, but¡­ Actually, I can¡¯t really tell with how weak-willed he¡¯s been lately, can I? Naturally he would never toss me away, but there¡¯s plenty of possibility that he could lose to his carnal desires¡­ ¡°¡­ Hum, maybe I should give you a little taste of what you¡¯ll go through?¡± ¡°Hey now?!¡± ¡°Well, joking aside, are either of you acquainted with any good healers we could use?¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t none that I know. Hard to make friends in the whole family business of phantom thievery.¡± ¡°Same here¡­ Actually there are two that¡­ Come to mind?¡± ¡°Oh, so there are some!¡± They came to mind, but Haster grimaced for some reason. As if remembering something, he shook his head. ¡°No no no, let¡¯s not. Their skills are top notch, but there are too many problems personality-wise.¡± ¡°We can ignore some personality issues at a time like this, you know?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t. Acting in a party is already plenty impossible with that. In fact, being pulled in with them would increase how dangerous things are.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to go that far¡­ Just for reference, who are we talking about?¡± ¡°The ¡°Saint of Water,¡± Ondine Blanche, and her apprentice plus granddaughter, Marielle Blanche.¡± Saint¡­ A ¡°Sage¡± other than us?! But what kind of personality problems are there? ¡°So what¡¯s the problem then?¡± ¡°Ondine is¡­ She sees me as a rival. Her water magic and healing arts are beyond comparison, but¡­¡± ¡°Rival? But I mean, you¡¯re kind of a muscle brain, right?¡± ¡°That was mean, and you said it like it was nothing, huh? Eh, my achievements are mainly from the battlefield though. Opposite that, she mainly deals in healing¡ªsupport from the back line. Well, since I was on the front lines, I got some flashy results, and attention tended to focus far more on me, so she started hating me for that.¡± ¡°But she should have gotten plenty of respect for being a healer.¡± ¡°Yeah, when she was young, she was called ¡°The Blue Angel¡± by some, too.¡± ¡°On that subject, did you have any other names?¡± ¡°¡­ ¡°The White Sword Saint¡±. Even though I didn¡¯t have any gifts for it.¡± Upon hearing this alias for him, my eyes sparkled. ¡°That¡¯s awesome, isn¡¯t it?! The name sounds like something a 14-year-old would make!¡± ¡°What the¡­ That¡¯s not actually a complement, is it?¡± Come to think of it, Alec is 14 now too. How about Haster goes ahead and passes that ¡°Sword Saint¡± title over to him? ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend it, you know? Swordsmen are all a hot-blooded bunch. I was challenged a bunch of times to sword fights too¡­¡± ¡°But you won, right?¡± ¡°Not that this is something to brag about, but I hardly ever won by sword fighting. Before they got close, I would deflect their swords and send them flying with a [Wind Blade], and if they dodged that I would step in close and beat them down with martial arts.¡± ¡°So you were better at martial arts than you were with swords¡­¡± So the reason he suddenly started my training with physical techniques is because he had that kind of background? ¡°Those are the experiences I had. So I don¡¯t recommend calling Alec a Sword Saint.¡± ¡°S-so what problems does the granddaughter have?¡± ¡°Oh, she¡­ Well, she¡¯s a good kid¡­¡± He seems to be having a lot of trouble getting it out. What¡¯s gives? ¡°So ¡°good kid¡± means she¡¯s pretty young?¡± ¡°Yeah, age-wise I think she would be about one year younger than Alec?¡± If she¡¯s 13, then she should be at the height of eighth grade syndrome. So is that the kind of ¡°problem¡± she has then? ¡°So uh, she kind of fell for me, like big time. I mean, she¡¯s tried making advances on me a bunch of times.¡± ¡°¡­ Haah?¡± ¡­ Did you say she made advances on you, Haster? ¡°I understand. First off, let¡¯s kill that Marielle bitch.¡± ¡°Calm down, it was a long while ago.¡± ¡°You expect me to keep calm about this?!¡± I stand up in the driver seat and swing my arms about, as an expression of protest. Since I was standing in the confined driver seat, my head rammed into the awning, and I smacked my arms pretty good too. ¡°Owowow¡­ This pain is Marielle¡¯s fault too.¡± ¡°Uhh, pretty sure that¡¯s some unjustified resentment.¡± ¡°Ya¡¯ll are actually kinda stupid, huh Yuuri?¡± ¡°Shut up, or I will violate you in every possible way.¡± ¡°If ya¡¯ll are gonna do it, Yuuri, then¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be mindin¡¯ it, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Uwah, stay back!¡± Miss Levy drew closer with a strange and menacing feeling, so I kicked her away. I was pretty serious with my kick, but even so, my strength was too little to make more than a pathetic sound. ¡°She was at that age for falling in love I suppose. Ondine raising her in a sheltered environment may be to blame as well, but in any case she approached a man like me fearlessly.¡± ¡°I definitely can understand the feeling of falling for you at that point in time¡­¡± He was a stoic, dandy, and cheat of a sage, after all. Now his ¡°Sage Mode¡± is totally on the chopping block, though. ¡°Well, Ondine has those particular feelings towards me, and Marielle is in love with me, so I have no idea where either of those would lead us. As such, we should avoid calling on them as companions. If things go poorly, then one of them might even fall for the Demon King.¡± Yeah, a healer falling in love with the Demon King¡­ That situation alone feels like it could happen. No matter how competent, we wouldn¡¯t want someone who could betray us for the enemy. ¡°So there¡¯s nobody conveniently lying around for us then¡­¡± ¡°Actually, the ones we have are already too convenient.¡± While continuing to converse, we continued our trip back to Mareba. ~*~ After arriving at our familiar cottage and unpacking our luggage, we headed toward Alec¡¯s house. It was pretty late, and the sun had already completely set, but we¡¯re bringing him dinner and souvenirs, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll forgive us. Sure enough, we found him with hanging around the house with Marle, and explained the situation to them. When we opened the door, the two seemed to jump away from each other, but let¡¯s not worry about that. ¡°Yeah, sure?¡± ¡°That was a simple reply. You know our opponent is someone who¡¯s called the ¡°Demon King,¡± right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re fighting him directly. The most important thing is to climb the World Tree first, grab the sprout, and run away.¡± ¡°Well yeah, I guess.¡± That¡¯s right. Our goal in the end is to make sure the Demon King doesn¡¯t claim it for himself. There¡¯s no actual need to fight. As long as we meet up five years from now, when the sprout appears, and if we arrive at the summit with good timing, we can get there way ahead of him. And as long as we keep it confidential who took it, the Demon King will have no way to pursue it. ¡°But I¡¯ve heard the World Tree has some terrible traps, right? Are we okay on that front?¡± ¡°This woman¡­ Miss Levy, despite her appearances, has the ¡°Trap Disabling¡± gift. As long as we find them, she¡¯ll be able to manage something.¡± ¡°Hmm, quite a guy, but he ain¡¯t quite as good as Haster, huh?¡± ¡°Miss Levy, are you listening? And please stop looking at him like that. Marle is getting a scary look in her eyes.¡± Actually, that line just now¡­ Let alone Marle, are you trying to pick a fight with Alec and me too? ¡°Ah, yeah. Is fine, all good! Just leave it to little ol¡¯ me.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what¡¯s going on Marle; we¡¯ll be borrowing Alec for a while. We¡¯ll stop back here regularly, so¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming too!¡± Huh? ¡°What are you talking about? It¡¯s dangerous!¡± ¡°But the labyrinth isn¡¯t the only thing in Novelius. There¡¯s supposed to be an academy too. I want to enter there as a healer.¡± ¡°Wh¡­ What¡¯s this about?¡± ¡°I learned something. There¡¯s no healer in this village. If someone gets hurt, then they have to get potions from sir Haster or recovery magic from Yuuri.¡± ¡°Well, yeah¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re a pioneering village, so there are a lot of dangers. If I become a healer, then I can lessen the burden of those injuries, can¡¯t I?¡± It¡¯s true, since it¡¯s a pioneering village, there are plenty of injuries from magic beasts and monster attacks, or from exterminating vermin. Besides, if she studies healing magic, she might even be able to heal Alec¡¯s arm. Actually, in her case that¡¯s probably her real intent. But the result is the same either way. ¡°It certainly would be beneficial to the village if they have a healer, but¡­ It¡¯s not something you can become just because you want to, you know?¡± ¡°If I end up not having the talent, then I don¡¯t mind if you return me to the village.¡± If she has talent, she¡¯ll be trained as a healer, and if not she¡¯ll go home¡­ Hum, there¡¯s no disadvantages for the village here either. As far as money goes, we can just take on that burden without any problems. And if I install a teleportation circle here, then we can come back to the village regularly. The problem is her safety, but¡­ Well I mean, with us around, she¡¯ll be pretty safe. I can have Yig watch her too. Besides, she still has a trump card with her. She hasn¡¯t used the ¡°Dragon Blood¡± yet. With a quick glance over at Haster, I could tell he was probably thinking the same things. Our eyes met. With a single nod, I told her. ¡°Very well. Then let¡¯s go to Novelius together. However, you must get mister Halt¡¯s permission first.¡± ¡°Hooray!¡± The next day¡­ Apart from the problem of not being able to see his daughter for a while, the village chief, mister Halt, thought it a good suggestion. The result from the family meeting was, she received permission rather easily. As such, our traveling companions increased by one. Chapter 75: Departing for the Labyrinth Chapter 75: Departing for the Labyrinth Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations From Mareba to Novelius is about twice as far as to Solkalis. Traveling normally would take us nearly a month. However, I had placed a teleportation magic circle in Solkalis, so we can cover half of that distance almost instantly! I had only just learned it back then, making it practically at the experimental level, so I¡¯m actually a bit uneasy about it though¡­ ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got a return circle ready right here, so if I return right away, then it¡¯s a success. If I come back in an hour, then that means it¡¯s a failure.¡± ¡°Being ¡°Immortal¡± sure is convenient.¡± ¡°Do you want to die multiple times?¡± ¡°I retract my previous statement.¡± If someone without ¡°Adaptability¡± died two, maybe three times, they would probably go insane. But seriously, we¡¯re leaving as soon as we got back¡­? Looks like the orc fluid research is going to be left for later. I stashed the bottled stuff away in a sealed storehouse in the basement. It¡¯s hard to think anyone would steal something like this, but just in case. ¡°We¡¯re going to be away for a long five years this time, so I think we should bring plenty of traveling money with us. I¡¯ll also need to come back once a month to sell rings at Gusta¡¯s place, so I can bring Marle along when I do. You can give your parents some peace of mind that way.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Alec¡¯s probably gonna have to turn in reports and stuff too, so I guess we¡¯ll all end up back here once a month?¡± ¡°Could it be I¡¯m the only one who doesn¡¯t need to come back here?¡± He very distinctly averted his gaze in response to my question. I-I¡¯m totally not lonely! ¡°It¡¯s fine. A person can live all on her own¡­¡± While on the verge of tears, I activated the magic circle. Upon being enveloped by the dazzling activation light, I was in a forest on the outskirts of Solkalis. It would seem the magic spell was a success. I make sure the surroundings are safe, and reaffirm the spell¡¯s formation. It was made shortly after I learned it, so there are a few messy bits, but no particularly outstanding problems it would seem. If I had to point something out, then there are quite a few unnecessary lines that make it bigger than needed, I suppose. ¡°Righy-o, let¡¯s go ahead and get that return circle ready then¡­¡± I pack in the ground immediately next to it with [Earth Wall], and strengthen it with [Toughness] before burning the spell formation into it. Once it¡¯s done, I again activate the spell and return to the cottage at Mareba. ¡°There were no problems with the spell. It looks like we can use it as a shortcut to Solkalis.¡± ¡°Whew, thank goodness.¡± ¡°No kidding. The trip is now two weeks shorter.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what he¡¯s saying, sis. Master is saying ¡°thank goodness¡± because you came back okay.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, right. Umm¡­ Thanks. Thank you very much.¡± It felt pretty nice once I realized that he was worried about me again. My mood got a little better from that. ¡°Hmmhmmhmhm~m?¡± ¡°Yuuri sure is in a noticeably good mood.¡± ¡°Sis is pretty simple on a basic level, after all.¡± ¡°Feh! Ya¡¯ll normies can just go explode!¡± ¡°You guys! Stop muttering to each other and get ready to go! We¡¯re going to head out soon, okay?¡± And your chastisement will come later, miss Levy. I have very good hearing. ~*~ Having [Teleported] to the forest on the outskirts of Solkalis, we camouflaged the magic circle with leaves and branches, hiding it so random strangers couldn¡¯t use it. Miss Levy was useful for this. The ¡°Trap Disabling¡± gift, if thought of in reverse, means being able to set up traps too. Forget amateurs, not even pros would be able to see through the camouflage she set up. But even if someone were to find it, [Teleport] takes a fair bit of magic power to use, so only a fairly proficient magician would be able to activate it. ¡°We didn¡¯t go by way of Rahon, but I wonder if that¡¯s okay?¡± ¡°Actually, isn¡¯t it rather convenient since we¡¯re hiding that we¡¯ve entered the country? It¡¯s as good as saying we¡¯re still back in Mareba.¡± ¡°Come to think of it, we were going to register with fake names. But wouldn¡¯t that be a problem for Marle in entering the academy?¡± ¡°I guess so, huh¡­? Perhaps we should let just her enter the country with her real name.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll take her along for the border inspection. If you or Alec were to do it, then it would cause a fuss, right?¡± I¡¯m carrying the border inspection certificate that I got last time, but as long as I don¡¯t use it, I can enter as a normal citizen. Well, Haster looks a whole lot different than he did before, so I don¡¯t think anyone would notice if he did the same though. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be any better-¡­ Oh, you don¡¯t plan on using your certificate from last time, do you?¡± ¡°As long as she¡¯s got your introduction letter, Haster, I think they¡¯ll let us in just fine, right?¡± ¡°Well sure, but¡­ I¡¯m worried. Levy, could you go along with them? I would think nothing will happen if they¡¯ve got a mid-rank adventurer along with them.¡± ¡°Yeppers. Couple ¡®a kids travelin¡¯ alone might be a smidge suspicious, after all.¡± ¡°I am an adult already, you know?¡± I realize that I don¡¯t look it, but I wouldn¡¯t be satisfied if that wasn¡¯t put out there. Will I ever be able to travel without a guardian around? ¡°In that case maybe I¡¯ll have to write an introduction letter for Yuuri too¡­? Heck, maybe we should enroll Yuuri in the academy too?¡± ¡°Why in the hell would I have to go to an academy after all this time?!¡± ¡°To treat your communication problems¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m just fine. I can keep on going as long as you¡¯re with me.¡± ¡°I-is that so? I see¡­ Well that¡¯s fine then.¡± ¡°Uh, no, that¡¯s not fine. Master, don¡¯t let her throw you off like that.¡± Alec just had to open his big mouth. And here I was planning to just spend my whole life flirting around with him¡­! ¡°But Alec, this is Yuuri we¡¯re talking about, see? She might get really popular and find a boyfriend if she enrolls in school.¡± ¡°Master, you know that¡¯s the kind of thing a father worries about, not a husband, right?¡± ¡°¡­ But come on, it¡¯s Yuuri. If her glasses were to accidentally fall off, all sorts of problems could happen, right?¡± If I were to remove my [Sealing Magic Mirror] in a school, a small-scale ¡°tragedy of Lilith¡± could be reproduced. But really, unlike back then, I have some means of self-defense now. ¡°Rather, I suppose it should be changed to something other than glasses, huh¡­?¡± I agree that it should be changed from something as easy to remove as glasses, but¡­ Haster, why are you directing your gaze at my collar I wonder? I¡¯m feeling something disturbing right now, so I think it would be a good idea to get out of here. ¡°Well, this is all after we officially enter the country. Come on, write that introduction letter, please. We¡¯ll have to bring miss Levy to Rahon and go through the border crossing process, after all.¡± ¡°R-right.¡± ~*~ Haster wrote the introduction letter for me, and I entered Novelius as Marle¡¯s ¡°little¡± sister when crossing the border. It¡¯s because I¡¯m the shorter one of us, but¡­ I still don¡¯t like it! When we teleported back to Solkalis from Rahon, we saw¡ª ¡°Wouldn¡¯t a collar be fine?¡¯ ¡°You¡¯ve made shackles with ¡°gift sealing,¡± haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°But those would be hidden if she just put boots on. I want to [Enchant] something that will clearly display my claim on her. Maybe it would be better to use a swimsuit and seal her whole body?¡± ¡°Why not like, handcuffs, or a rope? Like in S&M.¡± ¡°Alec, I think you¡¯ve got some rather unique tastes. Marle¡¯s gonna have it rough.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not as bad as you, Master! Besides, I wouldn¡¯t ask her to do something like-¡­ Er, well¡­¡± ¡°So you can¡¯t deny it.¡± ¡°Ahem, then why not just make it all?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± ¡°That better NOT be it!¡± Alec and Haster were in the middle of some kind of stupid conversation. Boys really talk about the stupidest things when they¡¯re all alone! Well, if my gender hadn¡¯t changed, I¡¯m sure I would have joined in though. At this rate I¡¯m going to be wearing a school swimsuit, handcuffs, shackles, a collar, and a robe binding underneath my clothes. That will be my life. ¡°Welcome back. It¡¯s not like you would have to wear clothes over it all, you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll catch cold that way though?!¡± ¡°No you wouldn¡¯t. Since you have ¡°Adaptability¡± and all.¡± ¡°Gh, urrrghh¡­¡± ¡°Well, just joking anyway.¡± Sure, I really don¡¯t have to worry about getting sick thanks to that gift! Maybe I should offer a compromise while the damage is still light? ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t mind compromising with just a collar.¡± ¡°Really? Then I guess I¡¯ll design it that way.¡± You said that so casually, but you¡¯re grinning from ear to ear, Haster. ¡°Ya¡¯ll got it rough too, huh Yuuri?¡± ¡°So you finally understand? Once he gets enthusiastic about something, it just escalates from there.¡± ¡°That kinda enthusiasm ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ I need in my life.¡± ¡°Sir Alec, mister Haster, you¡¯re both dirty.¡± By the way, why did you both get a shock from Marle¡¯s simple words, rather than our whole conversation? Actually, you should have expected that. This is hardly the kind of conversation you have in front of a 10 year old, is it?! ¡°Good grief, children could be traumatized by this. Both of you think about what you¡¯ve done!¡± ¡°Whoops.¡± ¡°S-sorry!¡± ¡°But sir Alec, when it is just the two of us, I will do my best!¡± ¡°Hey, wait, what?!¡± I hadn¡¯t seen her for a little while, so I completely forgot, but she has a bunch of superficial knowledge on that subject! We will need to show her a ¡°proper adult relationship¡± to keep her on the straight and narrow as she¡¯s growing up. And Haster, you¡¯re influencing Alec too much. At this rate you two are going to be a depraved sage and depraved swordsman pair, you know? ¡°Anyway! We¡¯ll procure a carriage and necessities in Solkalis, and then we¡¯ll head out. We still have two weeks of travel ahead of us!¡± ¡°Yeah, actually I¡¯ve already prepared a carriage. We can leave whenever.¡± ¡°Ooh, just what I should expect. So you really weren¡¯t just sitting here chatting the whole time.¡± And it only took us a little over an hour to get through the border inspection. He sure works fast. While I looked at him respectfully, he seemingly uncomfortably hid a small bag behind his back. I heard a familiar clanging metal sound¡­ Is that silver? That¡¯s when it suddenly came to me. There¡¯s a certain magic tool made from carved silver¡­ ¡°Seriously, Haster, you¡¯re such a¡­¡± ¡°Look, we don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll be able to get more of these after this. And besides, it¡¯s normally a necessity for adventuring.¡± It¡¯s true, the ¡°Ring of Mental Resistance¡± is a necessity for adventurers. Lately I¡¯ve only been looking at them for something other than their intended use, so I guess I¡¯m just jumping at shadows now? ¡°Oh, got it. My apologies. We¡¯ve been using them for other things so much lately, so I ended up misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Eh, no need to apologize. Of course I plan on using them for that too.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­¡± A-anyway¡­ We once again began journeying like this. Sigh, is there any way to rehabilitate a depraved sage out there? --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: The ones who got the [Teleport] trap in the 2nd act ready were Baram (magician), and Mac (healer). An average magic user would probably have trouble activating it alone. Chapter 76: Arrival Chapter 76: Arrival Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Two weeks after we began our journey from Solkalis. The trip went almost too favorably as the time went by. Of course, that doesn¡¯t mean there wasn¡¯t any trouble. There was bandits, magic beast attacks, avalanches, and other highway trouble. Actually, there was probably a lot more trouble than when we were traveling to Solkalis. However, between all of us there was enough power to handle whatever came our way easily. ¡°Hey you lot, if you wanna pass by here, ya gotta give us a little somethin¡¯!¡± ¡°That woman might do, yeah? What kind of money can you dudes give us?¡± ¡°We could probably make something off of the brats is we sell ¡¯em as slaves.¡± ¡°Oh boy¡­¡± Alec and Haster stepped forward with a sigh. The bandits showed off their poorly maintained swords while surrounding us, but¡­ You know threatening us with those pieces of scrap iron is only going to exasperate us, right? ¡°Y-Yuuri¡­¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. It¡¯ll be fine.¡± The only ones apparently armed among us are myself with Third Eye and a short bow, plus miss Levy with two short swords. Even though Haster and Alec are wearing scale mail, they aren¡¯t armed. On top of that, Alec is one-armed. We probably look like sitting ducks, with miss Levy being the only one who doesn¡¯t even look like a minor. ¡°This is just annoying. Let¡¯s hurry and clean things up, Alec.¡± ¡°Got it, Master.¡± ¡°Darn fools¡­ Can¡¯t ya¡¯ll tell how strong yer targets are?¡± ¡°Like you¡¯re one to talk.¡± ¡°Are you bastards makin¡¯ fun of¡ªHiii?!¡± The bandits were getting hot-headed over our lack of concern, and then screamed. That was because Haster and Alec summoned their weapons. Upon seeing the super heavy weapons that completely ignored whether the opponent was a human or beast, and valued only power, they could no longer stand up straight. ¡°We could let you off if you go now, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Just so you know, getting hit by this thing hurts.¡± ¡°I-if we get scared off by some brats, we¡¯ll be laughing stocks!¡± ¡°Who would be threatened by those weapons? They¡¯re just for show!¡± The bandits made foolhardy statements and began their attack. They sure mistook when they should be putting that courage to use. What happened after that was¡­ It could only be described as a splatter fest. Just two swings. Haster and Alec only swung twice, and turned six people into lumps of meat. When one of the two remaining bandits got close to us in an attempt to take a hostage, miss Levy intercepted him. He was also turned into something resembling a dust cloth, and died. I actually couldn¡¯t tell how many times this guy was slashed in a single moment, he was shred into so many pieces. She really is seriously fast. The remaining one finally realized what he was up against and started running, but I was afraid it would come back to bite us later if we let him go, so I sent a [Wind Blade] at him from behind to end things. ~*~ So we continued without making a big deal of any trouble like that, and as a result of making our way through our travel plans, the capital of Novelius, Belit¡¯s ramparts stood before our eyes! ¡°It¡¯s the capital! The tree is huge! The walls are huge!¡± ¡°We can see that, so calm down, yeah?¡± ¡°Yuuri¡¯s outtin¡¯ herself as a little ol¡¯ country bumpkin.¡± ¡°Yuuri, hey, umm¡­ Keep it down.¡± ¡°Sis is being embarrassing as usual.¡± ¡°What¡¯s ¡°as usual¡± supposed to mean?!¡± I admit that I got a little too worked up and that I¡¯m a country bumpkin, but I couldn¡¯t let that ¡°as usual¡± stand without complaint. When have I ever been embarrassing?! I kicked at Alec¡¯s knees and scraped the mud from my shoes onto him as a finisher. How do you like that, good sir? ¡°Eww, gross! I just got changed into some nicer clothes. Could you cut that out?!¡± I smiled pleasantly at Alec¡¯s cry, and then, while retreating behind Haster, sized up the World Tree a bit. In five years, we¡¯ll be climbing to the top of that tree¡­? My motivation is feeling rather far off. ¡°You two, I know you¡¯re excited, but you need to calm down.¡± ¡°Ugh, sorry Master.¡± It would seem that Alec was feeling a bit more energized than usual too. The home of adventurers, the greatest labyrinth in the world, and the very root of adventure. For young boys, this place is like a magic word to thrill them. That stage of legends stood before our eyes, so it¡¯s hardly surprising. Those in our surroundings looked on gently when they saw how we were acting. ¡°Pardon me, are you on a pilgrimage? Or perhaps a school trip?¡± ¡°Oh, no, we¡¯re here to register as adventurers¡­ And you are?¡± Without a fragment of distrust, a man who seemed like a peddler spoke to us. Though a little worn out, he was wearing a stylish yet calming outfit made of high quality cloth. ¡°My apologies. My name is Marco, and I deal in foodstuffs. I¡¯m on the way back from selling goods at the inns.¡± ¡°Very courteous of you. I¡¯m Has¡­ My name is Al. I¡¯m here to become an adventurer, and came at the behest of the lady Levy over here.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Levy. A right pleasure.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Ale¡ªGUHO?!¡± As usual, the idiot boy couldn¡¯t read the situation and was about to give his real name. So I delivered a flying knee to his vital area to shut him up. Haster gave his alias out, so you need to do the same. ¡°Ahh~, the one on the floor over here is Bern. He plans on becoming an adventurer, but as you can see he¡¯s still lacking in training.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Yuurin¡­¡± Haster gave out the fainted Alec¡¯s alias in his place. He probably took his ¡°Al¡± name from ¡°Albine,¡± and Alec¡¯s similarly was probably taken from his ¡°Burns¡± surname. A one-armed great sword using eighth-grade-syndrome boy is always going to stand out, so hiding it makes it less likely to make trouble. Incidentally, I just adjusted my name a bit. ¡°I am, umm¡­ Umm¡­¡± ¡°This is Marle. She came here to enroll at the academy.¡± We gave out fake names one after another, so she seemed to have gotten confused. Unlike the rest of us who have well-known names, she¡¯s a genuine village girl, so there¡¯s no need to hide it. ¡°How polite. I sell food at a small pavilion near the big tree, so please come on by whenever you like.¡± ¡°But of course. This is our first time in the city, so we look forward to stopping by.¡± ¡°Your first time here, eh? This city has many sights to see, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll enjoy it.¡± ¡°Indeed, we were planning to have a good look around even before we got here.¡± A giant tree so tall that you can¡¯t see the top. And its trunk is thick and studly¡­ The diameter looks to be at least three kilometers. The roots spread in every direction, with the ones sticking out from the ground alone being tens of meters thick. Those divide the city into several sections. One theory suggests that the roots spread throughout the entire continent. That¡¯s definitely taking it a little far though. ¡°How¡¯s the capturing gettin¡¯ on? Done gone past floor 232 yet?¡± ¡°Nay, they seem to be having some difficulty.¡± Miss Levy was talking about the highest floor that the active adventurers have reached apparently. Those who have only reached the fifth floor or lower are called novices, the fiftieth floor and lower are called beginners. Every five floors in the labyrinth, a powerful magic beast stands as a gatekeeper, so surpassing the first five floors is the first big wall before a newcomer. From the fiftieth to the hundred-fiftieth floors are the Middle Rank adventurers, which is the most populated group. From the hundred-fiftieth to the two-hundredth floors is the Upper Rank, which only a handful of adventurers ever reach, apparently. And then those who have advanced beyond the two-hundredth floor, the top running few people who are at the forefront, called the Top Rank. They garner the highest respect from the city. Yeah, even the top rankers are at floor 232. They¡¯ve barely gone past a quarter of the 1000 floor labyrinth. It¡¯s pretty obvious just how unbelievable a person Bahamut is when considering he conquered the place. Though his knowledge is of an era long past now, so it¡¯s no longer useful of course. ¡°Miss Levy, you cleared up to floor 102, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Sure did. If I had more support, I probably coulda gone a little further, but goin¡¯ it alone and all¡­¡± ¡°You went through 100 floors alone?!¡± ¡°Is that strange?¡± ¡°That¡¯s normally where a whole party would get together and eventually reach¡­ Ah, I misjudged you. This isn¡¯t something that¡¯s described on the registration card.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ written there but the simple floor I reached.¡± The only thing on the registration is what floor a person got to. In other words, what kind of party you were with, or how many people were in the party aren¡¯t mentioned. People who challenge the labyrinth alone like miss Levy are naturally a minority, but the fact that she got as high up as she did could be considered proof of her abilities. ¡°So that means you really are a loner, huh, miss Levy?¡± ¡°Shut yer dern trap!¡± ¡°Did nobody want to be in a group with you?¡± I thought she would be sought after by many, being a gift holder and all. ¡°Uh, yeah¡­ Well, had a group together before, though?¡± ¡°Then why¡­?¡± She has three gifts; ¡°Recognition Blocking,¡± ¡°Trap Disabling,¡± and ¡°Peerless Magic.¡± The power to scout ahead without enemies even noticing her, the power to disable any kind of trap, and the power to be an excellent magician. On top of that, she has out-of-the-norm physical abilities as well. Any one of those abilities would make her a target that those capturing the labyrinth would salivate over, and she¡¯s got three of them. For a place like a labyrinth, her gifts would probably be more sought after than mine. So why would she do something as dangerous as going solo? ¡°¡¯bout that¡­ First party I got together with went an¡¯ accidentally stepped on a trap. People went an¡¯ thought I did it on purpose to get a new party.¡± Meaning it was known she has a trap-related gift and yet they activated a trap, which surrounded her in distrust. It¡¯s not a ¡°Trap Finding¡± gift, so noticing the traps isn¡¯t even something she¡¯s automatically good at though. ¡°Ever since, they been treatin¡¯ me like a ¡°grim reaper¡±¡­ With that kinda past, all the parties I got together with after that would treat me like a disposable scout. Ain¡¯t much I could do ¡¯bout it. So I went an¡¯ ran from the city.¡± ¡°And then you heard the Demon King was aiming for the World Tree and decided to come back. Except adventurers outside of this city would probably be a rank or two lower in quality¡ªOooh, so that¡¯s why you were looking for us?¡± ¡°Yeppers. Ya¡¯ll are skilled magicians just tucked away in the backwoods. Ain¡¯t nobody who would pass that up, yeah?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a huge pain for us though.¡± And so, while we continued our idle chatter, our turn for inspection came around. Finally we had arrived at the home base of adventurers, Novelius. Chapter 77: Provisional Adventurer Registration Chapter 77: Provisional Adventurer Registration Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Notice: I changed the name ¡°Livy¡± to ¡°Levy¡± in this chapter as a test, with the idea being that I would switch the ¡°Leviathan¡± and ¡°Livyatan¡± names around in earlier chapters. If you enjoy the change, please leave a comment. If you want it back to what it was, please leave a comment. If you don¡¯t care either way¡­ Well, do whatever you do then. Feedback is always appreciated! Comments were positive towards the change. Previous chapters will be revised as I get to them. Changes complete! The capital of Novelius, Belit. A city spread out around the roots of the World Tree, which holds a lot of significance in this world. Home of the Sacred Tree religion. A legendary labyrinth. Birthplace of the adventurer¡¯s guild. The place where one can see the legends of the world with their own eyes. Consequently, many people visit, and those crowds make Solkalis¡¯ look like nothing. Pilgrims, here to bow their heads before the World Tree. Adventurers, here to step foot into the labyrinth within said tree. Merchants, here to sell products to tourists and adventurers. It¡¯s the very vision of a crucible for races and professions. For me, whose jaw dropped at Solkalis, I got a taste of what it¡¯s like to have my eyes spin. ¡°Whaaaaooooo¡­¡± ¡°C¡¯mon Yuuri, guild¡¯s over this-a-way.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get lost now. Finding you here would be a pain.¡± ¡°Marle, don¡¯t let go of my hand.¡± ¡°R-right.¡± The carriage we rode here would get in the way of traffic, so we left it at the inn. We were going through the city on foot to apply at the guild, but the scale of things¡­ And all the people¡­ ¡°Urp¡­¡± ¡°H-hey now?!¡± ¡°Sorry, the crowds are making me feel sick.¡± ¡°Seriously, you¡­¡± Saying so, Haster used [Ventilate] to send a breeze to me. It was a kind of lukewarm breeze because of all the people around, but it made me feel a lot better. When arriving at the adventurer¡¯s guild with miss Levy¡¯s guidance, we became the center of attention. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that the ¡°Grim Reaper¡± over there?¡± ¡°The hell is she doing back?¡± ¡°So those brats are the next suckers?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need smaller body bags this time.¡± On the way into the building, she was doused in scorn and contempt. Looks like she¡¯s had a pretty hard time of things. However, though I understand why they want to talk, I won¡¯t allow them to spread malicious gossip about my ¡°companion¡±. ¡°¡ªWhat did you just say?¡± I faced the people jeering at her, and went into full-on intimidation mode. ¡°She is my companion. If you¡¯re going to make fun of her, you better be ready for¡ª¡° ¡°Stop it, Yuuri. You hardly need to pay attention to these small-fry.¡± ¡°What was that, you brat?!¡± Haster was probably trying to remonstrate me for getting so heated, and cut into the conversation to mediate, but¡­ He¡¯s obviously fanning the flames, right? Haster, who stepped in front of me, was then grabbed at the collar by an adventurer-ish man. Seeing as he¡¯s shorter now, he was hanging in the air. ¡°Try saying that ag¡ª¡° Once the man got that far, he collapsed to the floor. Now on the ground, the man was foaming at the mouth and convulsing. If you looked closely, you could see a black and blue mark at the bottom of his chin. ¡°What the hell did you do, you bastard?!¡± He probably punched the guy¡¯s chin as soon as he grabbed Haster by the collar. Even from behind him, in this narrow space, I couldn¡¯t see him move to attack. ¡°That¡¯s a silly question. I was just protecting myself?¡± ¡°He was beaten up¡­ By some ordinary kid?¡± ¡°And it¡¯s exactly because he¡¯s ordinary that you¡¯ll be penalized if you hurt him.¡± The woman behind the counter, who was watching what had happened until then, broke into the quarrel. ¡°Registered adventurers are much more powerful individuals than ordinary citizens. Exercising that force against ordinary people is a severely restricted action. Whether they are here to make a request, or new applicants, driving them away would cause problems for us here at the guild.¡± It certainly wouldn¡¯t be practical to their operation if requesters and rookies were chased out. The adventurers probably didn¡¯t want to make an enemy of the guild, so they grimaced and backed off. ¡°You better remember this, newbies.¡± ¡°Oh, we won¡¯t forget. Your nasty remarks that is.¡± After spitting out a canned phrase, the men left the lobby. While I threw a return comment, we headed toward the counter. ¡°Now then¡­ Welcome. How might the adventurer¡¯s guild help you? Also, welcome back. I haven¡¯t seen you in a year, Levy.¡± For some reason, the receptionist¡¯s eyes seemed to moisten¡­ Does she swing that way? No, I¡¯m just joking. ¡°Sorry ¡¯bout all the ruckus. Guidin¡¯ some fresh faces on over.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all. There aren¡¯t any big requests at the moment anyway.¡± Acting as if nothing had happened, miss Levy conversed back. They seem to be acquainted. ¡°Who were them guys?¡± ¡°Just as that boy said, some small-fries. They¡¯ve just been lazing around here since high noon.¡± ¡°Well ain¡¯t that harsh of ya. Same as ya always been, Remy.¡± Miss Levy had a lighthearted conversation at the counter. The woman at the counter didn¡¯t seem to hold a bad impression of miss Levy. In fact, I suppose they seemed rather friendly? ¡°Are you two close?¡± ¡°Sure are. See, our names are plenty alike, and we been gettin¡¯ along ever since I done registered.¡± ¡°This girl is careless in direct proportion to how powerful she really is, so I could hardly leave her alone.¡± Saying so, she gave us a once over¡­ ¡°Aren¡¯t you all a bit young?¡± ¡°These three here are the ones registerin¡¯, and this here girl is gonna be enterin¡¯ the academy. An¡¯ they may look young, but they¡¯re pretty strong.¡± ¡°If that blow from a moment ago is any indication, I understand. Even I didn¡¯t see it.¡± The woman who appears to be called miss Remy prepared three documents and presented them to us. ¡°Welcome to the adventurer¡¯s guild. All you need to do for the provisional registration is fill in these forms. However, a proper registration will require a test, okay?¡± ¡°A test?¡± The counter was too high up, so I asked that question with only my head popping up behind it. It¡¯s probably sized for an adult, but¡­ Kgh! ¡°Of course. A registration could be considered proof that you have our trust. So you have to show us we can count on you.¡± ¡°Even with people like those guys from before around?¡± ¡°That¡¯s hard for me to respond to. Well, people do change¡­ Plus even if we employ ruffians and incompetents, we at the guild don¡¯t get penalized for it in any way, so we may have gotten a little soft I suppose.¡± ¡°So is there any real point to a test then?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I am the only one who tends the counter here.¡± Miss Remy put a hand to her cheek and tilted her head, looking troubled. It was a strangely sexy gesture. When a woman who looks to be about 20 does that, the combination of cuteness and sexiness isn¡¯t even fair¡­ And her boobs are huge too. ¡°Anyway, I guess we¡¯ll just have to take the temporary registrations for now. And we have plans after this.¡± While saying something like that, Haster¡¯s eyes were directed at her chest. I¡¯m not letting that go. ¡°Yig, GO!¡± ¡°Why now?!¡± ¡°Your sexual harassment is not permitted!¡± ¡°Can everyone here write?¡± ¡°Oh, we¡¯re fine. I¡¯ll write for Marle.¡± We completed our temporary registration amid our lively disturbance. The one-armed Alec served as Marle¡¯s agent. Incidentally, we had her prepare one more temporary registration card, registering Marle as well. This way we can have her mobilize together with us and register. It would be convenient to get all the qualifications taken care of at once. ¡°Okay, that makes four registrants. Umm¡­ Al, Burn, Yuurin, and Marle then.¡± She took out some kind of gadget, and typed on it while looking at the documents. Responding to the input, the machine beat out some metallic sounds, and something like a dog tag popped out of it. ¡°This will serve as your temporary registration card. It will allow you to enter the first stratum of the World Tree¡¯s labyrinth. Be aware that anything beyond there will require the full registration.¡± ¡°Oooo~¡± Er, I did hear about it beforehand, but, you know, I just had to express my admiration when I saw the real thing. ¡°It may be a provisional registration, but on top of having rather strict punishments waiting should an adventurer directly use violence against citizens, we would also dispose of your registration, so please be careful.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Provisional registrations are good for one month. Within that time you will have to clear the full registration test. If you do not, then we will dispose of your provisional registration.¡± ¡°Would we be able to re-register?¡± ¡°If you obtain a provisional registration once, you aren¡¯t supposed to be able to re-register for a year. Basically, go train some more and come back. However, many people register using aliases, so there isn¡¯t any real point in that I suppose?¡± ¡°I-is that so¡­? Aliases would be bad. Yup, wouldn¡¯t want any aliases¡­¡± Hearing the word ¡°alias,¡± Alec twitched in response, and I shut him up with a knee kick. Haster¡¯s tone also turned kinda stiff. ¡°Your full registration test is¡­ Let¡¯s see¡­ Collecting herbs living in the first stratum is standard, so how about we go with that?¡± ¡°Herb gathering is even something here too¡­ Hm? ¡°Living¡±?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you mean ¡°growing¡±?¡± ¡°No, ¡°living¡±. Your target is a carnivorous seaweed-like plant called a Creeping Vine. They can walk at a slow pace and they even attack people.¡± That¡¯s the World Tree for you. Inhuman monsters right from the start. But isn¡¯t a sudden monster suppression mission a bit intense? ¡°Is it okay to leave this kind of thing to novices?¡± ¡°It should be okay, I guess? They move pretty slowly, and can be dealt with sufficiently as long as you have a bit of information on them. The mucus membrane of the part they use for predation can be decocted into a very effective salve. You¡¯ll need to bring 10 of those mucilage per person back here. That will be the test.¡± So we¡¯ll need 40 for all of us? Good thing we decided to have Marle apply together with us. We could hardly let her go exterminating things on her own. ¡°You can complete the test with as many people as you like. However, you may not have any experienced adventurers helping you. Levy will have to stay back.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t that a right shame.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just glad we don¡¯t have to do it alone. So there¡¯s no problem with the 4 of us then.¡± ¡°That would just be asking too much. Even in this city, the only one who would enter the labyrinth solo is this girl.¡± Miss Remy pointed to miss Levy with a pen and cackled. I suppose her laughter could actually be seen as proof of her trust. Miss Levy even went with the flow saying, ¡°don¡¯t be pointin¡¯ at people with pens,¡± and pretended to be angry. After a bit of teasing, she continued the explanation. ¡°You have to bring back enough for everyone, so having a huge number of people actually makes things harder. It must be completed within a month. Thinking about it in reverse, you have a whole month to use, so don¡¯t push it, and come head back if you don¡¯t think you can win. With enough training, anyone should be able to achieve victory.¡± ¡°Anyone, huh? Not something I would say if I didn¡¯t know Yuuri.¡± ¡°How rude!¡± ¡°Hm? ¡°Yuuri¡±?¡± ¡°N-no uh, Yuurin! Yuuri is just a nickname.¡± Alec accidentally let my real name slip, and panicked. ¡°That so? Also, the inside of the labyrinth is vast. If you¡¯re heading up in floors, you¡¯ll have to spend the night in there while climbing. Even in the first stratum you may have to camp out, so be sure to bring the proper equipment for that.¡± ¡°Is it okay for you to be telling us so much?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is stuff you¡¯ll probably hear anyway. I suppose that¡¯s as far as my explanation goes though? Is there anything else you would like to ask?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Nothing in particular about the labyrinth. If we wanted to get into the academy, where should we go?¡± ¡°You should go to the east ward¡¯s reception desk for that. I think the deadline for this year is a little over 3 weeks from now? There isn¡¯t too much time. If you were to finish your full registration here first, the examiner may be more likely to accept you, so I suppose that would be convenient for you to some degree?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a nice bit of info. Shall we take care of your full registration here first, Marle?¡± ¡°Eh? Is that okay?¡± To be honest, her academic ability isn¡¯t much different from an ordinary villager. It¡¯s not as if she received a gifted education like Alec has from Haster, so I was a bit worried about that. Getting her adventurer qualifications and then applying for school will put her in a much better light. And so, our labyrinth challenge began. Chapter 78: The First Labyrinth Attempt Chapter 78: The First Labyrinth Attempt Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Going by miss Remy, the guild receptionist¡¯s, recommendation, we decided to have Marle apply for the academy after getting her complete adventurer registration. The school acceptance deadline is coming up three weeks from now, but adventurers who have completed their full registration are apparently given some preferential treatment, so we decided it would be best to go in that direction. In the end we were all going to go diving into the labyrinth, so we went with making preparations for that. However, the weapons and armor that Haster and Alec had were far superior to what was sold in the stores, so all we needed was armor for me and equipment for miss Levy and Marle. We didn¡¯t have any particular commitment to a specific place, so we went to a place like a general store in the lobby, got three sets of all-purpose leather armor and a mace for Marle, then we were done. We prepared dummy long swords for Haster and Alec. Since sentinel and cleaver stand out in all sorts of ways. ¡°Is this all the preparation we need?¡± ¡°Hey sis, maybe I really should give my scale mail to Marle, and¡­¡± ¡°And have our front line go out wearing paper? Just make sure you don¡¯t let anything through to the back.¡± ¡°Well, sure, that¡¯s the plan, but just in case, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°If that happens, then miss Levy will bravely volunteer her body to protect Marle, so it¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Eh?! I¡¯mma gonna what?!¡± Well, I can hardly imagine that something would get past three powerful magic users; me, Haster, and miss Levy. After that we just needed to purchase camping gear, food, torches, and a map, then we were ready to start the next day. The first stratum also serves as the guild¡¯s test area, so the map and completion information are already in circulation. ¡°Is it okay for us to be looking at the map?¡± ¡°Sure, why not? It¡¯s well known anyway.¡± I feel like if the difficulty is lowered too much, then it¡¯s not really much of a test anymore, but¡­ You sure this is really enough of a test? ¡°No problem. Everythin¡¯s fine, y¡¯see.¡± ¡°¡­ Well okay, if you say so?¡± I was actually more concerned over why miss Levy knew that joke. We ended up returning to the inn and having a meal that night so we could begin our assault the next morning. We split the rooms with Haster and I in one, Marle with miss Levy, and Alec together with Yig. We can¡¯t be fighting off fatigue later, so it looks like he¡¯s holding himself back tonight. Er, maybe he¡¯s actually just nervous? We¡¯re going to be stepping foot in the labyrinth that the people of this world aspire to, after all. I¡¯m a bit excited to be challenging a real dungeon too. I was looking forward to the next morning, and also kind of scared; it was a strange feeling that I held on to as the night passed. ~*~ The next morning. For starters, we were planning to spend a day in the labyrinth and see how we¡¯re feeling afterward. We went to the labyrinth in the capital city Belit¡¯s center, and showed our tags to the guard at the entrance. ¡°More of ¡¯em, and a pretty young bunch this time. Now listen, it¡¯s a battlefield in that labyrinth. Don¡¯t you dare take any risks in there, got it?¡± ¡°Thanks for the advice. But it¡¯s not like we¡¯re gonna fight things we have no chance of beating.¡± ¡°Everyone says that at first. Seriously, be careful!¡± The guard was very worried about us because of how young we looked. By looks alone, the oldest of us appears to be the pre-adult Alec at 14. Following that, Haster looks about 1 or 2 years younger, and below him is the 10 year old Marle. In comparison, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if I appear even younger than her¡­ Kgh! ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mister guard. Make some pineapple salad or something and wait for us.¡± ¡°Why would I have to make something like that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simply a beautiful type of greeting.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You can ignore anything she says. Well, we¡¯ve got a map, and we aren¡¯t gonna do anything reckless.¡± Upon stepping foot in the labyrinth, we were immediately surrounded by darkness. It wasn¡¯t like a game, where there was light moss or something convenient like that. The passageways inside the labyrinth were wide enough for three adults to stand side-by-side and easily have room to swing their weapons around. Though I suppose that figures, considering the trunk we¡¯re inside is a few kilometers in diameter. We readied our lantern, and instead of lighting some oil, we placed a [Light Ball] [Enchanted] light stone inside it. The lantern is equipped with a shutter, so we can adjust how much light it gives off at our convenience. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have thought of using light stones like this.¡± ¡°Never make light of knowledge from games.¡± ¡°Games? Like chess or something?¡± ¡°No, I mean tabletop games from my hometown¡­¡± Come to think of it, I still haven¡¯t talked to Haster about me being reincarnated yet¡­ But if I were to say anything, that would mean I would have to talk about my past self, so¡­ Yeah, let¡¯s keep it a secret for a while. So this is how secrets are created between couples. ¡°We¡¯ll need Alec on the front line. In the middle will be me, Marle, and Yig. Haster will need to bring up the rear.¡± ¡°Agya!¡± ¡°I¡¯m being put in the back?¡± ¡°You are effective in both close combat and magical attacks. When we¡¯re not fighting, you¡¯ll be ready to intercept attacks from behind, and when we¡¯re in battle you can assist Alec with magic, so I was thinking it would be the most effective use of your abilities.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Kinda feels like you¡¯re used to this?¡± ¡°Uhhh¡­ Just some really good image training I guess?¡± It¡¯s all game knowledge, but I wonder if it will really be useful¡­ Our formation was set in a cross shape with Marle at the center. ¡°We¡¯ll be fighting with the Imperial Cross formation.¡± ¡°Did you say something?¡± ¡°Oh, just a thing I wanted to try saying. Marle, I leave the lantern to you. It¡¯s our valuable source of light, so make sure you absolutely do not let go of it.¡± ¡°Y-Yesh!¡± This is her first time in a labyrinth too, so she appears to be extremely nervous, obviously. She¡¯s having trouble talking. She¡¯s a simple village girl so it shouldn¡¯t be surprising. ¡°I¡¯ll have a torch up for us at the same time.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t one light be enough?¡± ¡°I doubt there would be something like this around the entrance, but we¡¯d be in a bind if there was a magic negating trap otherwise.¡± ¡°A trap like that¡­ Well, I guess it very well could exist. This is the World Tree after all.¡± It shouldn¡¯t hurt to be careful. ¡°That¡¯s too careful¡± is an excuse for the lazy. ¡°You sure do think about some interesting traps, sis.¡± ¡°It just shows how much more experience I have than you, young¡¯n.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have any more than I do!¡± ¡°Well then, leader, which way should we go?¡± ¡°Heh? Leader?¡± ¡°Obviously, considering the way you took charge a second ago.¡± Nonono, normally Haster would be the leader in this kind of situation, right?! What¡¯s the oldest one here doing looking like he¡¯s just enjoying himself?! And please stop nodding along with him, Marle. ¡°Haster¡¯s the one with the most actual battle experience, right? My instructions are just based on fantasies, and nothing more!¡± ¡°My experience is limited to head-on battles in wars, head-on confrontations against magic beasts, head-on duels, and things of that sort.¡± ¡°¡­ So what I¡¯m getting is that you¡¯re a complete muscle-brain. Anyway, please arm yourselves.¡± On my command, they called sentinel and cleaver. ¡°If we think about what we¡¯ll be doing after this, we should familiarize ourselves with the path to the next floor¡¯s stairs anyway, so let¡¯s head in that direction. Not like we have a particular destination at this point anyway.¡± ¡°Got it. This way then.¡± Our targets, the creeping vines are supposed to be wandering around this whole stratum. As such, we don¡¯t have the slightest indication of where we should go. Anyway, we¡¯ll walk around the labyrinth, find them, fight, win, and gather¡­ That¡¯s the kind of test it is. ~*~ We continued down the labyrinth¡¯s passageways just fine for a while, but absolutely nothing happened. Being safe is nice and all, but not being able to harvest anything like this is pretty sad. Our tension from earlier was already fading, and just as I was feeling like yawning, Marle twitched in reaction to something. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Yuuri, did you hear something?¡± ¡°What kind of ¡°something¡±?¡± ¡°It might just be my imagination, but¡­ It was some kind of rustling sound.¡± ¡°Alec, be on the lookout.¡± Haster immediately urged caution in response to her words. But there were no figures within the light aside from our own¡­ No, wait¡ª ¡°Above!¡± The wide passageways are more than 10 meters in width. And they¡¯re not just wide¡­ There¡¯s also a proportional height to them. I¡¯ve heard that people keep their attention focused at the height of their own line of sight. A position higher than your own eye height can be the easiest blind spot to take advantage of. My shout must have stimulated our opponents, as three shapes fell towards us from above. I threw my torch away, shoved Marle, and got us out of there. ¡°Kyaa?!¡± ¡°If they start off by attacking from above, then you can kill them on sight!¡± ¡°Marle, over here!¡± ¡°She can¡¯t go over there if you¡¯re gonna be swinging sentinel around! Attack them without getting us caught up in it!¡± It¡¯s his first time in a fight like this too, so he¡¯s probably flustered. Three entangled clumps of green ivy fell from above. Those are probably creeping vines. The slow-moving ivy was no match for them once they regained their composure, and they were beat into a giant mass in the blink of an eye. All in all, Haster and Alec took one each, Yig burned one with his breath, and the battle was finished just like that. While that was happening, I sent a [Light Ball] up to the ceiling and made sure there weren¡¯t any more lying in ambush. ¡°So that was our first fight¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d suddenly be surprise attacked like that. That certainly wasn¡¯t something to be dealt with ordinarily.¡± ¡°Good job noticing that, huh Marle?¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ve got good ears.¡± If not for her warning, we would have been hit from above. She did a great deed. Haster and I were going to grab the part we were looking for from them when we noticed¡­ ¡°They¡¯re in pieces.¡± ¡°Uhh, sorry?¡± The creeping vines were smashed and in pieces from cleaver¡¯s massive attack. They can¡¯t get any mucilage from its predation parts like this. Somehow we managed to recover it from the one killed by sentinel, but the one burnt by Yig¡¯s breath looked like another no-go. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like your weapon is suited to this test, Master.¡± ¡°This was a bit of carelessness.¡± ¡°How about we focus on magic when creeping vines appear.¡± This is how our first battle in the labyrinth went. Since it¡¯s our first battle, we can think about how we¡¯ll handle our next ones now. Chapter 79: Strategy Meeting Chapter 79: Strategy Meeting Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Following the map, we took the shortest route to the second floor, but only one more battle happened during that time. We managed to collect three of the parts. Putting that together with the first one we got, we still only had four. If we consider that we collected a tenth of what we need on the first day, then I suppose it¡¯s quite the haul, huh? ¡°Hmmm, we got a lot less than I expected.¡± ¡°We only met them twice on this whole trip. Not much we can do about that.¡± ¡°They¡¯re hardly a challenge as long as they¡¯re not surprising us though. Isn¡¯t there some spell that you can just go, click, and find them sis?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any spells that convenient¡­ Well, maybe I could make one if I think on it¡­?¡± ¡°I-I am not a fan of repeated battles¡­ And those tentacle things are so gross.¡± So Marle doesn¡¯t like wiggling things? There¡¯s a part of me that wants to see her tangled up in tentacles¡­ Except I don¡¯t have the part of me that could get excited even if that happened. Besides, I feel like she could instantly die if she was caught¡­ Huh? But that wouldn¡¯t be a problem if it was me? ¡°No no no, I wouldn¡¯t be happy if I was caught. That¡¯s something to be enjoyed by watching it.¡± ¡°Huh? Magic is something to enjoy?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just talking to myself!¡± It would be bad to have Haster awaken to any new strange preferences. It also wouldn¡¯t be healthy for a young man¡¯s education. ¡°But if you think about it more¡­ The shortest route to the second floor is going to have the most foot traffic, so¡­ That means they may just be all hunted out by those who went through here before us.¡± ¡°Oooh, yeah that could be.¡± ¡°If we think of the path we just took as the main street, then we would have been better off collecting on side streets.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that also be dangerous? If we stay on the beaten path, then there¡¯s a high chance of help coming in a crisis, but if we¡¯re off to the side we can¡¯t very well expect that. Especially when it comes to the girl we¡¯re taking care of. I¡¯d prefer we avoid going directly into danger.¡± He seems to have become overprotective of Marle, since she¡¯s been left in our care. I¡¯m so jealou¡­ No, that¡¯s just outrageous. ¡°With how powerful we are, we¡¯ll be fine as long as we aren¡¯t surprise attacked, right?¡± ¡°But those surprise attacks though¡­ We¡¯re a catastrophe when it comes to scouting skills.¡± ¡°Even without those, we can just use infiltration tactics. If Alec is the lead, and Haster carefully watches above us with [Light Ball], we shouldn¡¯t have any surprises.¡± ¡°And since [Light Ball] is a maintained spell, I can still fight while it¡¯s in effect¡­ Okay, let¡¯s go with that.¡± I feel bad about doing this as soon as he¡¯s getting fired up, but I¡¯m gonna have to rain on his parade. We were advancing carefully to this point, so a lot of time has passed; it¡¯s about time we should be heading back. ¡°We¡¯ve already spent a lot of time here, so how about we head back for today? Marle¡¯s probably tired too.¡± ¡°Oh, now that you mention it, it took us a while to get here. Has it been about three hours already?¡± ¡°If we look at it taking another two hours to head back, it should be a good time. If we get used to exploring, we could go twice¡­ Actually maybe three times faster moving forward.¡± ¡°Which would mean we could get to the fourth floor in a day trip then. I see, so that means novices have to be at the level where they can camp within the labyrinth.¡± That¡¯s probably the reason why they¡¯re novices until they get past the fifth floor. Camping out would be required to capture a labyrinth this huge. Keeping safe within the labyrinth, obtaining the knowledge and techniques to take breaks, and becoming recognized as capturing some of the labyrinth¡­ The fifth floor is the boundary for all that then? ¡°Today is our first day in here, and we¡¯ve gathered a tenth of what we need¡­ Well, let¡¯s call it a passing grade. I also have a lot to think over, so I would like to head back if we could.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what you want, Yuuri, then we¡¯ll do it. I mean, you are the leader, right?¡± You¡¯re still saying that?! And you¡¯re grinning ear to ear about it. He is totally and obviously messing with me. ¡°Please stop with the leader thing. I like staying behind the scenes. You and Alec can be the ones who stand out.¡± ¡°Standing out would be a problem for me too. Since I look like this now.¡± ¡°Then by process of elimination, Alec is the leader.¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna make me?! I¡¯ve never done that kind of thing before.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Haster and I will give the ideas and guidance. You can just make the final decisions on everything. You can be something like a nodding elf.¡± ¡°A nodding elf?¡± ¡°Someone who gives approval to all ideas with hardly any objections. It¡¯s another name for a great leader.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty amazing¡­¡± I¡¯m just making this up as I go, but¡­ Probably best not to tell him that. ¡°Well if that¡¯s all, then¡­¡± Looks like I hooked him! ~*~ On the way back we again ran into no problems. We had one more encounter, but we easily annihilated them. We acquired two more materials, bringing our total to six. After having our dinner, we gathered in a single room at the inn and held a review meeting. ¡°Now then, I would like to call into session our first labyrinth capture review meeting!¡± ¡°Uhhh, pretty sure 6 on yer first day ain¡¯t bad at all though?¡± ¡°I ask those who stayed home to please keep their mouths shut.¡± ¡°Haster, Yuuri¡¯s bein¡¯ darn mean.¡± ¡°Stop.¡± After quieting the one who isn¡¯t part of our fighting force, I consolidated the day¡¯s results. ¡°The results of today¡¯s battles are six materials. It¡¯s unfortunate that we lost two in our first fight, but that¡¯s probably good as far as results go.¡± ¡°At this pace we¡¯ll clear the test in ten days.¡± ¡°Seven actually, Marle. Now, those are great results, but we do have things to reflect on.¡± ¡°We do?¡± ¡°If you forget to examine your own actions in any situation, then you won¡¯t progress Alec.¡± ¡°Nor will you, Yuuri.¡± Haster, I would really prefer you not point that out to me. ¡°Things to examine today would have to be our route choice mistake, and our poor ability to cope with surprise attacks.¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s try picking some places off of the main path starting tomorrow.¡± ¡°The problem is the surprise attacks.¡± ¡°Yes indeed. Fortunately we have the right number of people, so if we just split our watch between the front, above, and the left and right walls, it¡¯ll be flawless.¡± ¡°Even the walls?¡± ¡°We were attacked from the ceiling before, so couldn¡¯t they surprise us from the walls too?¡± Our enemies are seaweed monsters. They could probably stick anywhere. And it¡¯s not like they¡¯re the only things in there. ¡°By the way, Miss Levy, please give us information on enemies that appear in the first stratum. For free.¡± ¡°Hey, I ain¡¯t gonna take yer money¡­ ¡®Sides the Creeping Vines, the first floor¡¯s got Crack Worms too.¡± ¡°Crack Worms?¡± ¡°Puttin¡¯ it simply¡­ Friggin¡¯ huge cockroaches.¡± ¡°¡­ Haster, let¡¯s go back to the cottage.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not going back.¡± But come on, that¡¯s a monster that the housewife in me doesn¡¯t even want to see, you know?! I wouldn¡¯t even want to touch the small-sized ones! ¡°You can at least pulverize them with magic. Alec would have to use his sword.¡± ¡°Alec, if we run into any of those, then stay away from me, okay?¡± ¡°Seriously?!¡± ¡°Umm, Sir Alec¡­ I feel the same.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­¡± Being rejected even by Marle, Alec cried sorrowfully. We can¡¯t help that we¡¯re physically repulsed by them, right? ¡°W-well, this is just one of those things. We¡¯ll have to give it our all with magic. Is there anything else?¡± ¡°Other¡¯n that is some feral kobolds. Ain¡¯t hardly nothin¡¯.¡± Kobolds are a type of beast people who stand on two legs. They¡¯re hardly a meter tall, so they¡¯re monsters with physical abilities lower than those of a human. ¡°Which means¡­ The problem is going to be the Crack Worms.¡± ¡°Especially their appearance.¡± ¡°Their power is nothing to laugh at either though, right? If we think about standard cockroaches, they¡¯re quick, tough, and can fly.¡± ¡°Uhurp?!¡± I imagined a gigantic cockroach rapidly approaching, spreading its wings, and showing its disgusting belly as it flies at my face, and felt like throwing up. Well, as far as physical abilities go, they really are dreadful, but¡­ Actually, putting together their abilities and the pressure of their appearance, could they be seen as invincible? ¡°While we¡¯re on it, the Kobold¡¯s fur and the Crack Worm¡¯s feelers are what ya can sell from ¡¯em.¡± ¡°What could they possibly use their feelers for?¡± ¡°Flexible an¡¯ elastic materials have got all sorts o¡¯ uses, y¡¯know?¡± Even insect which look like that are turned into materials, huh¡­ This other world is a fearsome place. After being here for five years, I have now felt true fear. ¡°Bugs make plenty o¡¯ fine materials to be usin¡¯ anyway, y¡¯know? Like sickles from a mantis, an¡¯ the stinger from bees can make mighty fine weapons.¡± ¡°They do tend to evolve specialized characteristics after all.¡± ¡°And they make for bothersome opponents. Since they¡¯re specialized for one single trick, if you fight them on their own turf, then they¡¯re really strong¡­¡± I figured Alec had dealt with plenty of bug type monsters while guarding the village, but I guess some of them really were tough fights. ¡°Anyway, it would be dangerous to go around without thoroughly searching for enemies. Crack Worms and Creeping Vines would both have no problems crawling up walls.¡± ¡°Well then, we know Alec will keep his eyes ahead, and Haster will use a [Light Ball] to watch the ceiling. Marle and I will have to eye the walls to our sides.¡± ¡°With the four of us, that seems reasonable. Not having anyone watching our backs worries me a little though.¡± ¡°Oh right, that¡¯s a thing too¡ªIn that case, Yig will be watching above us. You have good night vision, right?¡± ¡°Ugyu?¡± Yig seemed surprised as he raised his head when the conversation suddenly went his way. You were sleeping, weren¡¯t you¡­? Well, he¡¯s still a kid, so I¡¯m not gonna make a big deal of it. ¡°If Yig can monitor above us, then Haster should be able to watch behind.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯ll work. However, using Yig as part of our force seems a little bit like we¡¯re cheating.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll use whatever we have. We¡¯re beginner¡¯s after all. Also, about the next problem¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s something else?¡± ¡°Searching for enemies. The biggest problem today was that we could hardly find any enemies.¡± If we could quickly find enemies, then our hunting efficiency would increase, and we would even be able to move while dodging enemies. Just as in my previous world, finding the enemy before they find you is a basic in battle. ¡°I can probably manage something about this with magic. Except it will probably take me a little time to develop the spell.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ Then how about we take a break tomorrow and you develop it then? Going into the labyrinth once in two days seems like reasonable pace anyway.¡± ¡°That would help me a lot.¡± ¡°Can ya really go developin¡¯ somethin¡¯ like that so easy-like?¡± Miss Levy, are you doubting my ability to develop things? Well, that¡¯s fine. If we need seven days at our current pace to get forty items, then going once every two days just doubles that margin. I don¡¯t need to hurry in developing the search technique, and it seems like we¡¯ll need it anyway. I should be able to just take my time with this. And so we adjourned our first day¡¯s review meeting. Chapter 80: Spell Development Chapter 80: Spell Development Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The next day, Marle was even more fatigued than we expected, so we took a rest day to give her a break. Haster and I were also more tired than we thought, and went sound asleep that night without any lover¡¯s talk. Thanks to that, I¡¯m in perfect physical condition. He went out this morning saying he¡¯s gathering information. I also have things to do, so I guess it isn¡¯t much of a rest day in the end. Now then, we need a more efficient way to search for enemies while exploring the labyrinth. A radar would be the standard move, but¡­ I have absolutely no idea how to put together a radar! Something as well known as a rail gun, sure, but a literature focused man like myself wouldn¡¯t have any reason to know about that. And there¡¯s no Wikipedia in this world either. Which means I¡¯ll have to use my current knowledge to come up with some way to expand our searching abilities. ¡°I guess looking for things in pitch darkness would mean infrared sensors, right?¡± ¡°Ugyu?¡± ¡°But then it would only cover our field of vision, so it wouldn¡¯t exactly be an efficient means of finding enemies.¡± ¡°U-ugyu¡­¡± ¡°I guess if we want it to reach places we can¡¯t see, maybe we¡¯ll need ultrasonic waves?¡± ¡°Ugyu~¡± I considered spell formula options with Yig, who was sitting at the inn. It feels like he doesn¡¯t understand a thing I¡¯m saying, but worrying about that would be my own loss. Doing this on my own would be lonely, so I need a conversation partner. ¡°But infrared vision would be convenient to have too. I¡¯ll consider it when I have some spare time for [Enchanting] a spell.¡± ¡°Agya.¡± ¡°Maybe another useful spell would be [Olfactory Heightening]?¡± ¡°Fusha¡ª¡° ¡°Yig, you¡¯re breathing heavily. I know you have great lung capacity, now calm down.¡± Yig seemed to be saying, ¡°I have confidence in my lungs!¡± with how heavy his breathing was. After chiding him, I wrote down my options on some paper. I¡¯m really glad paper is in common use in this world. It¡¯s similar to straw paper in quality, but it¡¯s fine for writing on. ¡°Let¡¯s see, so the five senses human¡¯s possess are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. But taste and touch can¡¯t really be used for a radar, so I would really be better off thinking about it based on the remaining three.¡± I tap my fingers on the desk, and score out a rhythm. It¡¯s just a habit of mine when thinking about things, but beating out the rhythm suddenly brought an idea springing forth. ¡°Of course sight would be restricted by obstacles. If we could knock the walls out of the way, then it would be fine, but¡­¡± If I use ¡°Appraisal¡± on the [space] around me, then I could even finding enemies in hiding, so it would be useful for enemy searches. But when I use that continuously, the pressure it puts on my head is no joke. Seeing as my nose starts bleeding after using it for 10 minutes, it could hardly be considered practical. It probably wouldn¡¯t be very useful if we hole ourselves up in the labyrinth for a long time. ¡°I guess it really would be best to mainly use sound in finding enemies, like Marle did yesterday. Heck, submarines and stuff rely mostly on sound anyway¡­ Hm?¡± Come to think of it, aside from the always-active passive sonar on submarines, they also send out a constant signal from themselves for a high precision view of their surroundings, called an active sonar. In their case, their enemies could find them by sound too, so there was some danger with it, but in our case the enemies have no such ability. Doesn¡¯t that mean we could use it safely? ¡°Hum, it might be a little rough to have a constant active search though. If I can search a few hundred meters all at once, and send a signal at regular intervals, then that should keep the burden light.¡± If I keep [Olfactory Enhancement] going along with it, then that¡¯ll be perfect, huh? The spell for [Olfactory Enhancement] already exists, so I¡¯ll just have to alter it for long-term activation, and I¡¯ll try enhancing its effect while I¡¯m at it. The sound search, on the other hand, is going to be completely self made. I¡¯ve got a little bit of knowledge from bat ecology, so a little appropriation might be in store. I¡¯ll just rearrange the dynamic magic power use [Transmitter] and [Receiver] spells I used for that time with Yig, and¡­ It will have to receive signals from all directions, so I¡¯ll have to spread a thin film of magic power around¡­ And like that, I spent until the evening completing the two spells. ~*~ Even though I said the two spells are complete, using them without a trial run is pretty scary. As such, I decided to head outside of town and give them a test. Performing the test outside of town means I can figure out the range of the search, and check if I can notice the bugs that I don¡¯t even see. ¡°There are no walls to blow through or constrict the area here.¡± ¡°Agya!¡± The surroundings are a wide open plain, with sparse trees growing. I can even see birds flying through the sky. This should be the perfect location for the test. ¡°Here I go!¡± ¡°Ugyu!¡± ¡°Echoing sound of the wind, reveal the nature of the world to me!¡± I activated the [Sonar] spell I developed, and included a chant to help me keep the image clear. I want to see just how wide the search range can be, so the output was at full blast¡ª The moment I activated it, a powerful CLANG! Sound reverberated through my surroundings. Leaves from the trees a pretty far distance away scattered through the air, and I think I saw the birds flying high through the air faint, and fall to the ground. As for me¡­ Blood squirted out my ears, and I fainted. ~*~ ¡°I-I thought I was gonna die!¡± ¡°Agya~¡± ¡°Did you say something, Yig? My ears are still ringing.¡± The regeneration effect of ¡°Golden Ratio¡± is basically working, but I feel my sense hasn¡¯t fully come back yet. I¡¯m hearing things kind of like I have some loose earplugs in. ¡°This is actually attack magic at this point, huh¡­ It¡¯s indiscriminate, so there¡¯s no good way to use it though.¡± ¡°Shaa!¡± ¡°Yes, I know. I won¡¯t use it like that. But the result was actually a success, I suppose? I could tell exactly where all the falling birds and the leaves and stuff were. On that subject, the birds fell over there, so go grab them for us, Yig!¡± ¡°Agya!¡± He hurriedly flew off upon hearing about the birds. He sure does have an appetite. While watching Yig fly away, I tried activating [Sonar] again. This time I made sure to squeeze down the output. With a clanging metallic sound, the ultrasonic waves and the receiving membrane expanded and revealed the surroundings to me. The grass around my feet and their rustling. The birds fallen on the ground. The bugs hiding in the vegetation. The leaves shaking in the wind. The snake approaching me from behind. ¡ªYep, it¡¯s perfect¡­ Wait, what?! That last line of information jumped out at me. At the space near my feet, a snake was rapidly approaching to bite me. Isn¡¯t that a pit viper?! Well, it does go by a different name in this world, but it¡¯s practically the same type of snake. Since I at least avoided its surprise attack, dealing with it is simple. Before it could strike at me a second time, I activated [Wind Blade], and sent its head flying. I¡¯m used to [Wind Blade] enough that I don¡¯t need a chant to activate it. I didn¡¯t even give the snake a chance to ready itself for its next move. ¡°Whew¡­ And suddenly it turned into a field test. But it let me deal with a surprise attack from behind, so we can call this technique a success.¡± The reverberations of the spell are still clear in my mind, allowing me to understand my surroundings kind of like I¡¯ve got a map. This kind of feels surprisingly good. After about 30 seconds, as the reverberations dissipated, the map gradually disappeared from my mind. Outside of my expectations, the search range actually penetrated 30 centimeters into the ground too. I might even be able to see into the other side of walls with it. With the ringing noise it makes, we won¡¯t be able to get the jump on anything though. ¡°Mogyu?¡± ¡°Welcome back, Yig. No taking bites of the food, okay?¡± I welcomed Yig back with the prey he secured, and moved on to test the second spell. This will be [Olfactory Enhancement] with extra enhancement. [Olfactory Enhancement] is normally used to check for poison, and doesn¡¯t enhance it all that much so it can be kept in effect. It can only find poisons with strong odors, and there are tasteless and odorless poisons, so the wide opinion is that it¡¯s only used to give a sense of security. However, with my magic capacity, I can effortlessly keep it in effect with greater enhancement. I remodeled the spell to bring my sense of smell to that of a dog¡­ Actually, even beyond that. I slowly began the spell¡­ ¡°Ughu?!¡± I completely forgot, but Yig brought the prey right next to me. The smell of the blood dripping from those birds. The stench of the chewed up entrails. The odor of the excrement extruding from their bellies. The sulfurous stench coming from Yig¡¯s body. The remaining scent of Haster on my body. That fishy aroma suddenly rushed at me. ¡°Ugueeeh! Ehoh! Gohoh!¡± Unable to endure the sudden attack, I reflexively puked my guts out. And in doing so, I got a good whiff of the vomit, causing me to vomit even more. That repeated a few times until all that remained was stomach acid, and I finally managed to release the spell. ¡°I-I will have to¡­ Be really prepared¡­ When I use this¡­¡± ¡°Ugyu~¡± Yig looked worriedly over me as I collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I guess we can say we¡¯ve achieved our goal for now, huh?¡± With these two in combined use, we probably won¡¯t encounter any surprise attacks, even in the labyrinth. I may have messed up a little bit, but the results were great. We triumphantly returned to Belit. ~*~ Upon returning to the inn, I greeted Haster with a triumphant look on my face, and reported my achievements to him. ¡°If that¡¯s true, then it¡¯s pretty amazing.¡± ¡°Well of course it¡¯s true! If you want, why don¡¯t I try it here?¡± I stubbornly refuted him when he responded with some doubt. As a human of this world, mentioning sonars and ultrasonic waves probably wouldn¡¯t even bring a ping to mind. Let alone pinging. I performed a weak [Sonar] spell, and [Olfactory Enhancement] at the same time. Even the positions of the mice in the ceiling were¡­ Hum? ¡°Haster.¡± ¡°Hm? What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°¡­ Why is there a woman¡¯s smell on you?¡± ¡°Huwha?! N-no, there shouldn¡¯t be¡­¡± He suddenly went into a visible panic when I pointed it out. He couldn¡¯t possibly be cheating, could he? ¡°Right now [Olfactory Enhancement] is giving me the same sense of smell as a dog. I wouldn¡¯t miss the odors of perfume and makeup, you know?¡± ¡°Th-this is¡­¡± ¡°Marle isn¡¯t ready for makeup yet, and it¡¯s different from what miss Levy always has on, isn¡¯t it?¡± Naturally, I¡¯m used to and remember the aroma of the perfume miss Levy uses. ¡°No, um¡­ This is uhh¡­ From the bar.¡± ¡°Ohh? The bar?¡± ¡°The waitress leaned over me a little bit and stuff¡­ Look, I¡¯m really not doing anything behind your back!¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­The perfume smell is coming from the palm of your hand, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°A-augh¡­ Sorry, I just¡­ Touched her chest a bit.¡± Hearing his confession, I smiled towards him. He doesn¡¯t appear to be cheating, but he touched the chest of a woman other than me? ¡°Haster.¡± ¡°Yes¡¯m?¡± ¡°Punishment time. I¡¯m going to overwrite the smell of your body entirely with my own.¡± ¡°B-be gentle with me¡­¡± Things were a bit rough that night. Chapter 81: Task Cleared Chapter 81: Task Cleared Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The fourth day since our registration. We start our second expedition into the labyrinth. Haster was in a disheartened state, as should be expected. Do ya know just how frightening ¡°Sacred Treasure¡± is now?! I certainly hope so. ¡°So scary¡­ ¡°Sacred Treasure¡± is seriously scary. I thought I was gonna go insane¡­¡± He always comes at me as much as he likes, but as soon as I took the ring off for a little bit with him, the initiative was mine. With a little discipline like this, he¡¯ll think twice before cheating on me, see? ~*~ Now then, this time we¡¯re fully prepared, so I expect we¡¯ll get some great results. ¡°But y¡¯know those uhh¡­ ultrasonic waves, right? Can we really find where the enemies are with that?¡± ¡°Whether you believe it or not can be decided after you¡¯ve seen it in action, Alec.¡± ¡°Yeah, even if it doesn¡¯t work, there¡¯s no harm in it. And if the enemies come to us because of the noise, that could be considered a success in its own way.¡± Alec expressed skepticism, and Haster gave an optimistic impression in response to my explanation. Damn you all. You don¡¯t have any faith in me, do you? ¡°Grrr¡­ Just watch, you two! I¡¯ll show you what this new spell can do!¡± I spread my mantle with a fwoosh and prepared to use the spell. ¡­ Yig, why are you covering your ears? ¡°How rude. I¡¯m not going to fail again, okay?¡± ¡°Ugyu~¡± ¡°Well, it is Yuuri.¡± ¡°Yep, that¡¯s sis for ya.¡± ¡°It does make sense indeed.¡± ¡°You bunch of¡­¡± I considered delivering some divine retribution on them for stating their rude opinions, but I¡¯ll hold it in for now. I huge output on the ultrasonic waves would also damage me, so¡­ From yesterday¡¯s use of it, the image is perfect in my mind, so I activated [Sonar] without a chant. With the sound of striking metal, an impression of my field of view expanding entered my mind. I wonder if this is how a certain blind American comic hero feels all the time? It¡¯s kind of nice. ¡°If we take the right turn ahead of us, then about 120 meters in are three things, and two more 40 meters after that. There¡¯s nothing to the left.¡± I report the results. Even though this spell can pinpoint living things, it can¡¯t tell if they¡¯re enemies or not, so it leaves an ambiguous impression. That¡¯s where I use [Olfactory Enhancement]. ¡°It spells kinda grassy, so I¡¯m pretty sure those are creeping vines. The ones after that smell like animals, so I guess they¡¯re kobalds?¡± ¡°Holy heck, you figured all of that out?¡± I looked smugly at Alec in his astonishment, and ordered an advance to the right. After moving forward a ways, sure enough there were three creeping vines growing on the walls. ¡°And they¡¯re pretty far up to boot¡­ If someone were to accidentally overlook them here, they¡¯d get caught in a surprise attack.¡± ¡°The monsters here are strangely clever.¡± ¡°Well, not a problem if we¡¯re on to them, though. Let¡¯s hurry and clear them out.¡± ¡°Oh, be careful Sir Alec, okay?¡± Everyone except Marle was already in easy-peasy mode. They were outside the range of our blades, so a quick [Wind Blade] to their roots sent them falling. After they were on the ground, Alec and Haster gently exterminated them. If they were intense in their attacks, the parts we¡¯re trying to recover would be in pieces. Taking the initiative, the creeping vines were trampled without the slightest chance to fight back. Amid collecting the materials, I once again used [Sonar]. ¡°I guess the ones that smell like animals heard the noise from our fight and ran. They went a little farther away. They¡¯re about 70 meters away now. There¡¯s also something else if we take a left turn ahead.¡± ¡°Is it what we¡¯re looking for?¡± ¡°Yes, it has the same smell. It is definitely that of creeping vine.¡± ¡°That sure is convenient.¡± ¡°See how awesome it is now?¡± Alec expressed his admiration, so my head was getting bigger and bigger. When Haster finished dissecting the vines, he gave my head a good pat. I¡¯m taking away points for his hand smelling kind of grassy, but it felt nice. The hunting proceeded well after that, and by the time the sun would be setting, we had defeated 37 creeping vines, and 12 kobolds. In the whole time we weren¡¯t surprise attacked even once, and it looked like we would clear our mission without any danger. ¡°Along with what we gathered the day before yesterday, we have 43 now. This was easier than I expected.¡± ¡°It¡¯s thanks to your new spell, Yuuri. We¡¯ll have to show our appreciation.¡± ¡°Please make sure that appreciation has physical form.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll think of something.¡± ¡°Is this truly okay? I haven¡¯t done anything.¡± Marle ended up only carrying the lantern and tagging along, so she was feeling a bit ashamed. ¡°It¡¯s totally fine. We didn¡¯t originally plan on bringing you here anyway. It was a good opportunity is all.¡± ¡°Yeah, just worry about becoming a healer, and then you can be a great help to us.¡± ¡°¡­ Master, when you talk to anyone other than Yuuri, you¡¯re pretty considerate.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t I always? Besides, I think such distinctions are important. Yuuri doesn¡¯t need that kind of consideration.¡± ¡°So he¡¯s saying I¡¯m special!¡± Hmhm! I puffed out my chest. Thinking I¡¯m special, I felt a bit of a superiority complex. ¡°Well then, Levy¡¯s probably waiting anyway, why don¡¯t we head back for today?¡± ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re going to be shocked at us clearing the request in four days.¡± ¡°Are you sure? If one of us were doing it alone, and we defeated three in a day, we¡¯d get the needed amount anyway, so it¡¯s not all that fast, is it?¡± ¡°Hrm¡­ I guess you¡¯re right. Maybe we¡¯re not so amazingly awesome¡­?¡± I guess if we consider continuously killing three of them each day, that would be plenty enough. Maybe, with our confusion on the first day in the labyrinth, we shouldn¡¯t have lagged behind with that break the next day? ¡°It¡¯s nothing to worry about. We got results from our first experience of the labyrinth in just three days. Besides, at our pace right now, we could have met the quota in a single day. If you think of it like that, we¡¯ve improved quite a bit.¡± ¡°I guess so, huh. What¡¯s important is what happens after we get our full registrations anyway.¡± ¡°Exactly. Well Yuuri, be on the lookout for enemies for us.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± This time I¡¯ll be using [Sonar] to secure a safe path back for us. ¡ªHmm? 20 meters behind us is a less than 2 meter response, and another 20 meters behind that is four responses? They¡¯re in a formation-ish setup, so maybe they¡¯re intelligent? After I used [Olfactory Enhancement] to investigate further¡­ ¡°Haster, there¡¯s a person 20 meters behind us. And four more another 20 meters back. I think they might be watching us¡­¡± ¡°People? Not kobolds or something?¡± ¡°Are there any kobolds that smell like cooked meat, alcohol, and makeup?¡± ¡°¡­ Probably not. It¡¯s probably another party, but it could be thieves. We¡¯ll try going over and saying hello, but be ready for them to attack.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Got it. Marle, take a step back, and Master will head out front.¡± ¡°S-sure.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t let your guard down either Yuuri.¡± ¡°Right-o¡± Unceremoniously acting like we¡¯re heading back, we headed toward the party next to us. Maybe he decided to stop hiding because we were headed towards him, but a man stepped out of the shadows. On top of that, four people came to meet him. ¡°Yo, rookies. How¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°Quite well. We should be able to get our registration done today.¡± I remembered the four people who came forward. They¡¯re the ones who got caught up with Haster at the guild. All of them had fiendish grins on their faces. I had a bad feeling about this. The four people were wearing leather armor or breastplates, and were armed with long swords and axes. There also appeared to be a magician among the four people in the back. ¡ªOne scout and a magic user. The rest are front-line warriors? Pretty unbalanced, huh. ¡°Wow, already hunted fourty of them? That¡¯s pretty awesome. You didn¡¯t go exploring here yesterday either, right?¡± ¡°You seem to know quite a bit¡­¡± ¡°Aww, don¡¯t be so crabby. We¡¯ll treat you to a drink once we get back¡­ Actually, with your harvest, maybe you should be the ones do the treating.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this the kind of thing that our seniors should be treating us for?¡± ¡°Well, yeah, but¡ªforget it, no treating anyone. This is a pain; just give us your spoils! We¡¯ll put ¡¯em to good use!¡± As soon as he shouted, the man quickly drew his sword and came slashing at us. Leave it to a scout I guess. His expertise clearly shows in his movements. However, we were being wary of that possibility. Haster took a step, no, half a step back to dodge the sword, then swung cleaver and blew the man away. ¡°Gubya?!¡± The man screamed oddly as he was blown away. Haster was probably holding back, too. That pattern still remains. After stepping on the bellows of the man blown away, the remaining slower four were kept in check by a sword swing from Alec. That swing didn¡¯t actually hit them, but the air pressure it created alone was powerful enough to make them fall on their butts. ¡°Buwoh!¡± ¡°What the hell?! I never heard anything about this!¡± That¡¯s when the magician, who was a little further away, finally started chanting. ¡ªA little late now. A magician¡¯s life is all about their activation speed and flexibility. Aiming for the moment when he should have been opening his mouth to chant, I hit him with a reduced power [Wind Bolt]. With the [Wind Bolt] hitting him just as he was sucking in air to speak, his breathing went into disorder, and he started loudly coughing. He shouldn¡¯t be able to chant properly for a while in that condition. ¡°Now then, what will you do? One of you is passed out, and another is powerless. Even if he pulls himself together, we can just make him powerless again, too. Our magician is really skilled, after all.¡± ¡°Shit¡­¡± ¡°By the way, we aren¡¯t too bad ourselves. We could take out all three of you with ease.¡± Alec thrust sentinel toward them one-handed. With weapon weight reduction not being popularized right now, it was probably an unbelievably odd sight to see. ¡°What the hell is with that weapon¡­ You didn¡¯t have that when you walked into the labyrinth!¡± ¡°You were watching us in the city? Must have a lot of time on your hands.¡± ¡°But if Yuuri¡¯s [Sonar] didn¡¯t pick them up until now, that means they lost sight of us until just a moment ago, right? In which case, we can guess just how good these guys are.¡± We entered the labyrinth in the early morning. Based on the smell of alcohol drifting from them, they must have had a tough morning. Which means they missed us this morning, and were searching the labyrinth for us, huh? ¡°Are you guys¡­ Idiots?¡± ¡°What was that?!¡± ¡°If you have time to spend all that effort, then you could have been advancing in the labyrinth right now.¡± ¡°They are well and clearly dropouts, huh. Sorry, but we¡¯re going to be reporting this to the guild.¡± ¡°W-wait, please, wait!¡± When they heard we would be reporting them, their faces paled. Looks like the punishment really is that frightening. ¡°You still have some time before we can report it. If you immediately leave the city, change your names and live quietly, well, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem then, right?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not gonna get off that easy!¡± ¡°Then do you want to fight us to the death? Just to tell you¡­ We¡¯re total novices in the labyrinth, but we¡¯re pros when it comes to battle, okay?¡± Along with his statement, I let off an [Electric Shock]. This time it had a clear target, and flew in a straight line to it. I¡¯m still reflecting on the time when Mister Bhav got caught up in one. ¡°Gyan!¡± The man who got his breathing in order, and was trying to quietly chant, screamed like a dog being kicked, and passed out. I started my spell after he did, and released it before him¡­ I¡¯m sure they can tell my ability level just from that alone. ¡°Out magician¡¯s skills are as you see. Now then, what will you do? Just to let you know, you don¡¯t have much time.¡± ¡°I get it, we¡¯ll leave town! We¡¯re leaving, so please let us off the hook!¡± ¡°Oh, before you go, could you leave your registrations for us? We need the evidence, and if we let you off and you end up doing something shady, well then we¡¯d be in trouble for that.¡± ¡°Shit. Fine, I got it¡­¡± The men threw their registrations our way, and ran away in haste. I called out to them from behind. ¡°Make sure to live a good life, okaaaay¡ª?¡± ¡°We fucking get it already!¡± Now then, there was a dispute, but the problem is solved. Now let¡¯s head back. We have to report to the guild, after all! Chapter 82: Registration Complete Chapter 82: Registration Complete Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations EDIT: Oh, and quick note: the user Primastella pointed out to me that the name ¡°Haster¡± I¡¯ve been using is likely actually the name ¡°Hastur¡± in reference to Lovecraftian mythos, which this author seems to love borrowing names from. So I¡¯m starting to use that this chapter. Thank you! I¡¯ll consider revising previous chapters. Maybe. Name reverted to ¡°Haster¡± by popular opinion After we chased off the lawless adventurers, we stopped by the guild to report the details. While we¡¯re at it, we¡¯ll submit the requested materials. ¡°Oh, welcome back. Looks like Levy¡¯s not with you today.¡± ¡°We came directly from the labyrinth today, so she¡¯s still sitting at the inn.¡± ¡°That so? Too bad; I was hoping to chat it up with her, too. So what might you all be here for today?¡± ¡°Do you job, receptionist.¡± Miss Remy was having plenty of idle chatter with Alec and Haster while complaining about not being able to chat. She was sitting at the reception counter today too. While Haster was taking out the 40 pieces of creeping vine material¡­ ¡°Today we came to report on our task, and we also have information on some problematic adventurers.¡± ¡°Your task? You¡¯ve only been at it for four days! You¡¯re done already?!¡± ¡°Was that fast? Is it not supposed to be this simple?¡± ¡°Normally it takes a week even if they¡¯ve built up their roots. The average would be about two weeks.¡± ¡°Two weeks? That¡¯s longer than I expected.¡± By Alec¡¯s estimation, didn¡¯t he think four days would be a normal period of time? ¡°On the first day they would jump right in, fight 1, 2, or 3 or them, get hurt, and take another two days to heal up¡­ And then after repeating that about three times, they¡¯ll finish. That¡¯s the kind of difficulty it¡¯s supposed to be.¡± ¡°Is that how it normally goes? We probably did it faster because we didn¡¯t really get hurt much.¡± ¡°With more people, the rate of collection drops, but the risk of injury decreases. Even if that let you go into the labyrinth every day¡­ Four days?¡± Not getting injured is putting it lightly; we trampled them. Haster and Alec were a rock solid front line. And with my magic shelling support, head-on battles are a cake walk. ¡°Veeery rarely, we¡¯ve had experienced mercenaries and such leap into a horde of monsters and clear it in a day, but¡­ Four days is really fast. This is promising.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Not sure if that¡¯s a good thing or a bad thing.¡± ¡°Injuries from a fierce battle usually take ten days or more to heal up.¡± Miss Remy giggled happily as she spoke with us. It¡¯s just, that¡¯s not something to laugh about. Though I guess people dying would be a normal occurrence in the life of a guild receptionist¡­ ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like you were too worried about us.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t though? I mean, Levy introduced you after all. There¡¯s no way you¡¯d be normal! And just as expected, you cleared it in about half the time. And as proof of that¡­ Here, your registration cards. I got them ready earlier.¡± From under the counter, she pulled out some cards with a World Tree design, and presented them to us. Oh? It looks like the design is a little different from Miss Levy¡¯s. ¡°Looks like you were ready.¡± ¡°I believe in Levy¡¯s abilities, after all.¡± ¡°This design seems a little different from Miss Levy¡¯s, but¡­¡± Basically the card¡¯s border is red. I think Miss Levy¡¯s had a yellow border to it. I didn¡¯t have anything to compare it to at the time, so it didn¡¯t give me any pause. ¡°Oho, the young lady has a sharp eye, huh? The border represents your level of contribution to the guild. There are seven stages to it, and it¡¯s built like a rainbow, starting from red it then changes to orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and then purple. If we only made our evaluations based on how far they¡¯ve gotten in the labyrinth, it would be hard to distinguish their abilities, after all. So we retrofitted this on to the cards as well.¡± ¡°Why make it so much trouble¡­?¡± ¡°Because people will do anything to reach a higher rank. At the start you¡¯re restricted to six people, but there are some who meet up after entering. There have even been pieces of trash in the past who bought tons of slaves to use as bait, aiming for a higher floor. And then there are girls like Levy who give it their all going solo; wouldn¡¯t it just be offensive to them?¡± ¡°There are some pretty terrible people, huh.¡± If someone like me were caught up in that, it would have been some good bait¡­ I don¡¯t die, so it would be infinite use. Comparing that to the Lilith incident, I can¡¯t really decide which would be better, but just thinking about it sends chills down my spine. As a shivered thinking about it, Haster gave my shoulder a gentle pat to relieve me. ¡°We aren¡¯t going to do something like that.¡± ¡°Of course, I know that.¡± But if the time comes for it, I should probably be ready to take on that role myself if needs be¡­ Not that I would ever tell him that. Miss Remy watched us while finishing up some kind of paperwork and passing it to another official to file away. With the way she¡¯s completing documents one-handed, it would seem she¡¯s very skilled in clerical work. ¡°Okay, and now the processing of your full registration is complete. Once again, welcome to the World Tree labyrinth!¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re in your hands.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re gonna speed through this thing, so look forward to that.¡± ¡°A pleasure to be working withchu!¡± ¡°Yup, a pleasure.¡± We each gave our individual courtesies¡­ Is Marle making a habit of tripping on her words? That could be a problem if there¡¯s an entrance interview or something for the academy. ¡°So then? What¡¯s this information about problematic adventurers?¡± ¡°Oh right, there¡¯s that too¡­ The guys we got tangled up with here a while back, they attacked us in the labyrinth.¡± ¡°Those guys!¡± ¡°Well, they weren¡¯t exactly tough to deal with, so we easily repelled their attack and sent them running.¡± ¡°You say ¡®easily,¡¯ but they¡¯re mid-rankers who made it to the 50th floor, you know? Good job winning.¡± That was 50th floor level? Maybe this labyrinth isn¡¯t actually such a tough¡­ Well, Bahamut said it¡¯s practically impregnable, so we shouldn¡¯t let our guards down. Miss Levy has high physical abilities plus ¡°Peerless Magic,¡± and she only got to floor 102, so we can infer the difficulty from that. ¡°In place of evidence, we confiscated their registration cards. I think they should be fleeing the city right about now.¡± ¡°Understood. For now we¡¯ll search around. Well, as long as they don¡¯t do anything that stands out, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll find them though¡­ Is that okay?¡± ¡°As long as they don¡¯t come back to town, it¡¯s not a problem. We¡¯re planning on being here for a while, after all.¡± ¡°Oh right, Master. We¡¯re going to be here for five years, so wouldn¡¯t buying a house be cheaper than staying at an inn?¡± Alec¡­ Do you realize how much a house costs? It¡¯s on a whole different level from that little shack of yours. However, we do need to put in the work of teleporting to Mareba once a month, so it¡¯s true that having a base would be best. We have to hide the magic circle, after all. ¡°I guess that might be best. Would you be able to introduce us to a suitable two or three story property here?¡± ¡°Supporting adventurers is basically our job, so we do handle such things sometimes, but it¡¯s expensive you know? Even in the sparser areas, it¡¯s still the capital.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be fine as long as it¡¯s within 100 gold coins a month.¡± ¡°Bhuwha?!¡± Miss Remy did a spit-take when Haster presented an unbelievable amount like it was nothing. It¡¯s like he was hoping for a rented house at 1,000,000 yen a month, so that¡¯s no surprise. Come to think of it, he has no sense of monetary value. Also, let¡¯s not be spitting on his face. That¡¯s where I lick him. Lickity-lick. ¡°A-are you people actually the children of some well-off family or something?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an orphan turned mercenary.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a merchant¡¯s son.¡± ¡°I am¡­ A beautiful girl of unknown origins.¡± ¡°I am basically a village chief¡¯s daughter? I mean, right?¡± I guess that kind of makes Marle a lady from a good family, right? She¡¯s the daughter of the representative of a pioneering village though, so it¡¯s not like they have much in the way of assets. The merchant, Gusta, on the other hand has plenty of cash. ¡°A village chief¡¯s daughter, and a merchant¡¯s son. I see. I guess it just makes sense you would have more money than a regular person. Hey, you, want to go out with me?¡± ¡°Uhh, actually my parents are dead already, so I¡¯m pretty much penniless now.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± This woman isn¡¯t to be made light of either; she immediately went on the attack when she heard he had assets. I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s joking though. Besides, the one who actually has the money is Haster. Even now he¡¯s making almost 300 gold coins a month in payment for ¡°Rings of Mental Resistance¡±. Lately I¡¯ve been nearly 700 coins too. I have those plus the royalties(?) from the ¡°Air Conditioners¡± and the ¡°Light Stones,¡± so they¡¯ve just been pouring in. If it¡¯s just 100 gold coins, then we should easily be able to pay it. About 1200 coins a month are flowing into the cottage right now. Of course more than 200 of those are consumed in material costs, but that¡¯s still 1000 gold coins¡­ 10,000,000 yen¡­? It¡¯s really too bad we have nothing to use it on. ¡°Well, joking aside, if you have that much, then maybe you should get some ¡°Rings of Mental Resistance¡± first? Above the 50th floor there are quite a few enemies that cause [Panic] you know? Those guys got stuck around there too, after all.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re fine on that actually¡­¡± Our strong point is that we can prepare ¡°Rings of Mental Resistance¡± ourselves. Haster hasn¡¯t hidden the production method for them, so other magicians could make them too, but his magic power is on another level from most other magicians. The average one wouldn¡¯t be able to accurately create them, so as a result, Haster has basically monopolized them. Moreover, as a result of having the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡± and ¡°Heart,¡± his magic power has jumped to multiple times its original, and his ring making has actually gotten better too. ¡°Then weapons and armor¡­ Actually, you¡¯re wearing some pretty nice armor, huh? Is that wyvern scale?¡± ¡°Uhhh, well¡­¡± Not like we could tell her they¡¯re from an ancient dragon. ¡°Your weapons seem pretty cheap in comparison. If you prioritize those, you might be able to jump up to the 50th floor all at once.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get there little by little.¡± ¡­ We couldn¡¯t exactly say that we were secretly switching out our weapons once we got in the labyrinth. ¡°Well, if you insist, then I could probably recommend a place around here.¡± Miss Remy pulled a single file out from a drawer, and presented papers with a series of landscapes on them to us. There are no photographs, so the locations were shown through landscape paintings. ¡°This one is near the labyrinth, so it would make for short round trips. This one is a bit far, but it¡¯s more well-made than the previous one. This one doesn¡¯t get quite enough sunlight because of the roots.¡± She explained one property after another for us. This city has the World Tree¡¯s roots radiating out and running through the city, so the closer you get to the center the less sun exposure there is. There¡¯s also the position of the roots to consider, so the site location is apparently pretty important. While listening to her explanations as we flipped through the file, my eyes stopped on a strange picture. It was a house built underneath a root protruding into the air. ¡°Miss Remy, what about this one?¡± ¡°Ohh, that one¡­ It was originally built to be a three story house, but then the root grew. It went across the roof. So, since there wasn¡¯t much they could do about it, they made it a two story house and added a basement on instead. I can¡¯t really recommend it though, you know? It doesn¡¯t get much sun exposure, and there¡¯s no telling when the weight of the root is going to crush it.¡± ¡°How is it structurally?¡± ¡°It was only built three years ago, so the house itself is pretty new. Thanks to the root, the people who were planning to move in ran away, so it¡¯s essentially brand new house. The price also reflects it being new at 500 gold coins, but can¡¯t take any complaints if it gets crushed.¡± Not only is it for sale rather than rent, but it¡¯s new too? A 500 gold coin price tag is well within our budget. Normally 500 gold for a house that could collapse at any time would probably be expensive, but if I just cast [Toughness] on the whole house, we shouldn¡¯t have to worry about it collapsing at all. Plus the roof is the World Tree¡¯s root, so we won¡¯t have to concern ourselves with roof leaks either. The basement also give its big points. Because I can hide a [Teleportation] magic circle down there. There are also plenty of rooms, with six on the first floor, four on the second, and four in the basement. Complete with a bathroom and toilet. One last thing to worry about is¡­ ¡°How far is it from the academy?¡± ¡°The academy? It¡¯s not too far away.¡± Assuming Marle passes into the academy, we¡¯ll have to consider how convenient her commute is, but it doesn¡¯t look like that¡¯s too bad either. This is actually a pretty nice deal for us, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Haster, I want to take a look at this house.¡± ¡°Hm, ahh¡­ It actually has a similar feel as the cottage, now that I look at it.¡± Has a basement, two stories, poor sun exposure¡­ I guess it is pretty similar. ¡°Hum, well then. It should hold if we reinforce the walls and roof, and we¡¯ll be able to live there nicely¡­ Miss Remy, save this house for us. We¡¯ll look at the real thing later, and if there are no problems, we¡¯ll probably purchase it.¡± ¡°Oooh?! You¡¯re really okay with it? This property has quite a few problems with it though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually pretty nice for what we need.¡± ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll hold this for you, so make sure come get it!¡± ¡°Hold on, we haven¡¯t committed to it yet.¡± And so we unexpectedly found ourselves a villa in Belit. Fufufu, us newlyweds just got ourselves a brand new house? Chapter 83: Friend Chapter 83: Friend Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations We got all caught up in the talks of our sudden purchase of a villa, but then I remembered we have other things to do. I pulled 12 kobold furs from out of Haster¡¯s shoulder bag. Later on, I was told that I looked like a baby monkey climbing on its parent at the time though¡­ ¡°Miss Remy, we have one more thing to take care of. I heard you could buy this fur from us.¡± ¡°Kobold furs? You¡¯ve got quite a few, too. Just how many battles did you all get into today¡­?¡± In response to her question, I meet eyes with her and start counting on my fingers. To be honest, we were seriously fishing tons of spots at a quick pace, so I didn¡¯t actually remember. ¡°Uhhh, kobolds three times, and the seaweed thirteen times I think?¡± ¡°No Alec, the kobolds should be four times.¡± ¡°Sir Alec, I believe the seaweed was¡­ twelve times, wasn¡¯t it? There were four times in the morning, and eight in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Then sixteen times in total I guess?¡± ¡°¡­ Pardon?¡± ((T.L. Note: spoken in English)) Miss Remy got a distant look in her eyes when she heard how many battles we fought. The surrounding adventurers also had surprised looks on their faces. ¡­ Wait a minute, English? ¡°The limit for normal adventurers is five battles in a day at best, you know? And you tripled that? So that¡¯s how you cleared it in four days.¡± Five times sounded like a small amount, but they are basically battles of life and death. Both sides are desperate, so it should take some time. Moreover, there¡¯s plenty to do after the battle, like healing, collection, and searching the area for more enemies to boot. There aren¡¯t going to be as many encounters as in games. Sixteen in a day makes it seem like we were on some standard battlefield somewhere. On those points, we don¡¯t tend to take any serious injuries, our enemy search is done in a single spell, and we made beelines straight for the next battles, so we were able to handle an unbelievable number of battles. ¡°I thought you had run into a huge flock of them, and that let you gather such an amount, but I guess it was something else, huh?¡± ¡°Umm, that¡¯s actually a company secret kind of thing.¡± ¡°Company? Well, every party has some skill they want to keep secret, so I won¡¯t ask any further, but¡­ Just so you know, if it¡¯s an useful method, the guild may be willing to buy it off you, okay?¡± ¡°¡­ Hm?¡± The [Sonar] spell is certainly useful. Together with [Olfactory Enhancement], if two casters split their parts, they may be able to handle it. However¡­ These are dangerous spells. At the very least, [Olfactory Enhancement] was dangerous enough to see through Haster¡¯s (attempted) cheating! And [Sonar] would be an extremely useful spell for robbers. After all, it would allow them to see what was happening on the other side of up to 50 centimeter thick walls. Besides, we aren¡¯t exactly hurting for money anyway¡­ Keeping this quiet is probably the right choice. ¡°Very sorry, but we really would prefer it stay a secret.¡± ¡°Really? Well, so be it. Okay then, we¡¯ll take the kobold furs at 70 silver coins each. With twelve of them, that makes 840 silver coins. How about it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s plenty. It¡¯ll serve as payment for our inn until we move in.¡± ¡°Would you like that with gold coins? Or silver coins only? You could also deposit it here at the guild if you want?¡± ¡°A deposit?¡± Moving money around is an important issue in a world like this with so few types of coinage. If you were like Mister Elric, heading somewhere with no connections to make deals, you would need cash to do it with, so carrying gold and silver coins around would be necessary. But for adventurers, that could be enough extra weight to be fatal. It¡¯s not hard imagining how nonsensically dangerous lugging around a purse, weighing who knows how many kilograms, on an adventure would be. So apparently the guilds have come up with a way to handle assets for people, allowing them to deposit the money in one city, and withdraw it in another. ¡°No need for a deposit right now. 6 gold coins, and the rest in silver please.¡± 6 gold coins, and 240 silver coins. This is plenty heavy enough, but having smaller values is convenient in daily life. We split the money between the four of us, with 1 gold coin and 50 silver coins each, leaving the remaining 2 gold and 40 silver for inn fees. We have three rooms, so it should be enough for three days in them. That should be plenty until we move in. ¡°Right, and this is the payment. If there¡¯s anything else to point out¡­ Ahh, I suppose you could just ask Levy, huh?¡± ¡°I suppose so. It is reassuring to have her around.¡± At my words, those around us clicked their tongues like they were ready to puke. For a moment I wondered if those guys were here, but it seems that wasn¡¯t the case. I guess that ¡°betrayed her party and let them be annihilated¡± suspicion is pretty deeply rooted. The atmosphere made it clear that if we continued our conversation, it would just lead to a quarrel, so we quickly rounded things up and decided to head back to the inn. ¡°Oh, hold on. If you¡¯re going back to the inn, could you pass this along to her?¡± Miss Remy pulled a single bottle out from under the counter and handed it to us. The brand on the bottle is¡­ A brewery from the Matala Alliance to the east? That should be some pretty expensive stuff. ¡°Oho, some good liquor, huh?¡± ¡°Minors shouldn¡¯t be drinking, Al. And could you give her this letter for me too?¡± ¡°A letter? What¡¯s it¡ª¡° ¡°Don¡¯t look! Sheesh, do you lot have no sense of privacy?!¡± I¡¯m sorry. The sex life I¡¯ve had lately made me say goodbye to that sort of thing, so¡­ ¡°Well, if she shares with you, then you can go ahead and drink it, but make sure you give it to her, okay?¡± ¡°Relax, we don¡¯t intend on being that thoughtless.¡± ¡°Master, you do have a weakness for alcohol¡­¡± ¡°By the way, I noticed Al looks like the younger one, but Bern calls him ¡°Master,¡± huh?¡± Yeah, Alec does look like the older one, so I¡¯m sure that feels a little off. ¡°He¡¯s the one who taught me the basics of swordplay, and above all he saved my life.¡± ¡°Wow. Come to think of it, you two are carrying your swords. But you fought sixteen battles, so be sure to maintain then, got it? If you aren¡¯t careful, they could reach their lifespan in a single day otherwise.¡± ¡°But of course. Our lives depend on it.¡± ¡°Bern is one-armed, so Al should be sure to handle his sword for him¡ª¡° ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m already used to it.¡± Of course their actual weapons aren¡¯t those mass produced swords though. Sentinel and Cleaver wouldn¡¯t see much reduction in power even if their blades did chip. More importantly, the holes in our cover are probably gonna come out if we stay much longer, so we should hurry and take our leave. Miss Remy, who worried about every little thing for us, waved her hand lightly as we left the guild. ~*~ ¡°Welcome back, how¡¯d ya¡¯ll do today?¡± ¡°It went great. We got our full registrations.¡± I showed off the newly obtained registration card to Levy, who had finished her supper in the dining hall ahead of us. ¡°Wha, ya¡¯ll done cleared it already?! Ya got 34 of ¡¯em today?¡± ¡°36 actually. Yuuri¡¯s new spell was very useful.¡± ¡°Hmhmm!¡± I was feeling rather proud, okay? I brought my hands to my hips and stuck out my chest. ¡°Sis, hurry and take a seat. Let¡¯s have some food first.¡¯ ¡°Sir Alec, what about our bags?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯m seriously starved¡ª¡° ¡°Oh, here. I guess this is from Miss Remy.¡± ¡­ Don¡¯t ya¡¯ll be ignorin¡¯ me. I took my seat, slightly teary-eyed. ¡°Miss Levy, what¡¯s the letter about?¡± ¡°Hn, just a sec.¡± The paper rustled as Miss Levy opened it and took a look. We made our orders during that time¡­ Except there wasn¡¯t actually a menu; the meal was set, as dinner was part of the inn cost. I did want to order one extra item though maybe? After making our orders, we returned our gazes to Miss Levy, who now had tears running down her cheeks. ¡°Wha, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Naw, it ain¡¯t nothin¡¯¡­ Just a bit moved by a deep friendship is all.¡± According to her, the letter contained words of celebration about her return. The alcohol was a gift of that celebration. ¡°I came along here two years ago. Weren¡¯t nothin¡¯ but a rookie who didn¡¯t know right from left, an¡¯ she gave me some good lessons. She¡¯s the one who got me that party too.¡± ¡°That party¡± must be her friends who were annihilated by a trap. ¡°For someone like me, who can be kinda absent-minded, she picked a nice group o¡¯ big-hearted people. An¡¯ they were pretty happy ¡¯bout it too. I still feel a little regret ¡¯bout it. ¡°¡­ I mean, swords, magic, traps, I can do ¡¯em all, ya see? My partners were pretty darn happy ¡¯bout it too, saying things like ¡°we got ourselves a good scout¡± and all. ¡°Us all, we got along well, went explorin¡¯ the labyrinth practically every day. We got better an¡¯ better thanks to that¡­ Probably why I got careless¡­¡± She sniffed loudly, and gulped down her cup of alcohol. With the cup drained, she unstopped the bottle, and refilled the glass. ¡°Ya want some too Haster? Pretty good stuff right here.¡± ¡°Please.¡± ¡°¡­ Remy¡¯s close in age, an¡¯ our names are alike, so we talked a whole bunch ever since. When I made that mistake, an¡¯ practically retired inside, she¡¯d visit me pretty often¡­. ¡°It was painful, an¡¯ I practically ran from the city. I was actually kinda embarrassed to be meetin¡¯ her, but¡­ Guess I was worried ¡¯bout nothin¡¯. She¡¯s actually really glad I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great¡­ A toast to friendship.¡± ¡°Ta friendship.¡± Their two glasses clinked together. Since Haster was on the battlefield before, he must have some feelings toward this kind of topic. I watched the two continue drinking together solemnly after that¡­ While I ate my cuisine without saying anything. Er, though it wasn¡¯t just me, okay? Alec and Marle just chowed down as soon as their food was served too. ¡°Well, us children aren¡¯t going to understand an adult conversation, right?¡± ¡°Yuuri, are you not an adult?¡± ¡°Being able to choose when to say that is what¡¯s good about my age.¡± ¡°Master¡¯s pretty good to be drinking on an empty stomach. I would be drunk in no time if I did that.¡± ¡°Read the mood, you guys¡­¡± Haster gave us a dirty look. Hey come on, I can¡¯t drink with you. And besides, I¡¯m really tired from the constant battles all day. As evidence, I present Marle, whose manners are usually very good, eating at an amazing pace. Those of us not drinking quickly finished our meals, and got up from our seats. I want to hurry and wash all this sweat off in the bath. ¡°Miss Levy.¡± ¡°Hn? Yeah?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll lend that to you as a drinking partner. However, keep your hands off, got it?¡± ¡°So I¡¯m a ¡°thing¡± now¡­?¡± ¡°Haha, I ain¡¯t a match for Yuuri. Ya¡¯ll just relax, puttin¡¯ my hands on someone else¡¯s property is against my principles.¡± ¡°Says the former phantom thief¡­?¡± I¡¯m not going to forget you tried to steal Yig until the day I die, you got that? Though I feel like I do tend to die a lot actually¡­ And so, I had the rare experience of sleeping alone. Well, I can handle a bit of discretion like this. --------------------------------------------------------------- T.L. Note: The next chapter is a supplement to this one, and thus very short. Chapter 84: Remy’s Letter Chapter 84: Remy¡¯s Letter Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations 4th Act, Supplemental Author¡¯s Note: A bonus. It¡¯s short, but it felt a little long when I put it in the main story, so I pulled it out to post separately. --------------------------------------------------------------- To Levy, in this current season, Aw heck, formalities like that don¡¯t feel right between us. Once again, welcome back. I¡¯ve been waiting a long time for your return. After what happened, do you know how much I worried that you might have committed suicide or something? I knew you were stronger than that, but considering even the slightest chance of something like that happening is just part of this business. It¡¯s been about a year since you left. That seems pretty short, but it felt long for me. You and your group were like a light of hope to me, when you cleared 100 floors in only a year after registering. I thought if anyone could conquer the labyrinth, it would be you. So I believed you were sure to return. Do you remember when we first met? You had hardly arrived at the counter before saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to climb the World Tree, so give me the qualifications.¡± There were plenty of people who came to register before adulthood, but even among them, you¡­You seemed a little spacey. That¡¯s why I introduced you to some companions, and gave you a recommendation for the academy. And while I was taking care of you in all sorts of ways, a strange sentiment bubbled to the surface. It felt almost like I had gained a little sister. And so you continued clearing floor after floor. The days you spent in the labyrinth increased from one to two, and the days you showed your face in the guild decreased in direct proportion. I was a little lonely, to be honest. But the stories you brought back were really fun to hear. What kind of traps you encountered, what types of monsters you fought, and what sort of klutzy things you did. Even though you were desperately clearing the floors, I could only look at it like I was watching a play. So without any basis for it, I was certain that you, Levy, would conquer the World Tree. Like a well-made play. That day, when I heard the party was annihilated, is when I realized my mistake. Why hadn¡¯t I told you to always be more careful? Why hadn¡¯t I informed you that danger always springs when things are going well? Even though I had heard those things countless times in the past, I got it into my head that those rules didn¡¯t apply to you. If it was you, who seemed so adult as you saw through practically everything, I felt certain you wouldn¡¯t need advice like that. Even though I thought you were ¡°spacey¡± the first time I saw you. I had seen you let your guard down, and knew you had¡­ And yet I didn¡¯t warn you. So that incident wasn¡¯t your fault alone. It was my fault too. So I wanted to apologize. But I thought I probably shouldn¡¯t at the time. After all, if I had said, ¡°It¡¯s my fault,¡± while you were feeling down, it probably would have had the opposite effect and hurt you. So when you disappeared from town, I wondered; had I made another mistake? But you came back. With new companions in tow, to challenge the legend again. It¡¯s only been a year since then. There are plenty of people who remember that incident, and the wounds on your heart probably haven¡¯t healed. But when I see you stand back up anyway, I feel like I¡¯m watching a hero. And so, Levy, Welcome back. Thank you. And I¡¯m sorry. No matter who else despises it, I gladly welcome your return. From your dearest friend, Remy Chapter 85: Heresy Chapter 85: Heresy Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations I was being considerate of Miss Levy last night, so we couldn¡¯t have a review meeting. As such, we are going to have it early in the morning. Furthermore, it¡¯s one of our rest days, so we won¡¯t be going in the labyrinth. ¡°And so, yesterday¡¯s review meeting is now in session. Don don, pafu pafu!¡± ¡°Y-yaaay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be a reflection on how to improve though, and we actually cleared things really well yesterday, so we don¡¯t really have much to review, do we?¡± ¡°Haster, ¡°When you don¡¯t reflect, you don¡¯t improve,¡± right?¡± ¡°Well I get that, but¡­¡± ¡°Ah, but I¡¯ve got one thing. Yesterday went too well, so we didn¡¯t notice how tired we were towards the end, and I think that made it a little dangerous. Marle is with us, so I¡¯d like to avoid any forced marches.¡± She certainly did seem pretty fatigued yesterday. We could cause ourselves to not realize we¡¯re getting tired. Resting early and often is an important issue. ¡°Certainly. Haster and Alec probably weren¡¯t very tired, but it was pretty rough on Marle and I physically.¡± ¡°Ahh, sorry. I didn¡¯t notice¡­ Looks like I have a ways to go as a husband.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just a beginner as a newlywed, so you can¡¯t help if you don¡¯t think of everything, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be careful from now on. I¡¯ll apologize at some point. Sexually.¡± ¡°Aaand it¡¯s ruined!¡± This guy was just letting his sex drive run wild, darn it all! ¡°But seriously, ya¡¯ll fought 16 battles yesterday was it? That¡¯s some pretty crazy stuff. How¡¯d ya do it?¡± ¡°Oh, that was¡­¡± She is an ally we¡¯re partying together with, and our senior in traversing the labyrinth. Telling her about [Sonar] should be fine. I conveyed the details of the spell formula to her. She has ¡°Peerless Magic¡± too, so she should have understood the specifics clearly¡­ But¡­ ¡°H-hey¡­ Do ya realize just what kinda unbelievable thing ya did?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°New spells ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ you just go off one day an¡¯ spit out like it ain¡¯t nothin¡¯!¡± ¡°Yuuri actually has a comparatively easy time spitting them out though, right?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll often just get an idea and make it that day, won¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Well, it is Yuuri after all.¡± Yeah, that¡¯s pretty much how it goes, doesn¡¯t it? I mean, I¡¯m using them just fine right now, y¡¯know? ¡°Listen up, ya hear? New spells normally take years of researchin¡¯, and piles of testin¡¯, until finally a prototype gets made, ya got that? To be makin¡¯ one the very day ya come up with an idea like it¡¯s easy is just¡­¡± ¡°Ahh, when you put it like that, Yuuri¡¯s in a lot of danger. Some research institutes somewhere would kill to have her.¡± ¡°If she can put together the details after hearin¡¯ the concept in just a day¡­ That¡¯s the kinda thing whole countries would move for.¡± ¡°Her existence itself is a strategic weapon, but that only increases her value. Just what I would expect of my wife.¡± These two are just saying whatever they want, huh? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the only one here with ¡°Peerless Magic¡±. In fact, anything I can do gift-wise, Miss Levy should be able to do as well. ¡°You can talk all you like, but if you have ¡°Peerless Magic,¡± Miss Levy, shouldn¡¯t you be able to do that too?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t got that kinda knowledge or thoughts on how to apply it. And my magic power ain¡¯t all that high either, so¡­ At best I can do that kinda thing as an adventurer¡¯s hobby.¡± Hrm¡­ Now that she mentions it, [Sonar] and such all use my former world¡¯s knowledge as the base, so I probably do have an advantage on that front. If I were to replicate things from anime or sci-fi shows, then I would be developing suspicious spells one after another¡­ So I really have to hold myself back on this?! ¡°Uuuh, that¡¯s enough for me to reflect on for now. I¡¯ll be careful about using new spells out in the open.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t really tend to interact much with people so I didn¡¯t notice, but yeah, Yuuri¡¯s ability to invent things really is abnormal, huh?¡± ¡°If you suspected that, then could you have maybe told me?!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t completely certain of it, so¡­¡± When it comes to the people I stay around, there¡¯s Haster, who has half-way secluded himself from the world, the muscle-brain Alec, and then Marle¡­? Practically nobody who understood the common sense of magic. Well of course I became a nonsensical magician then, I suppose. ¡°A-anyway¡­ I-it¡¯s fine if we just leave the ¡°nonsensical¡± part out. We need to be forward-facing about this. Yes, let¡¯s just keep looking forward!¡± ¡°Yuuri, your eyes are swimming.¡± ¡°Please ignore that.¡± ¡°Mister Haster and Yuuri are about the only magicians we¡¯ve ever really known.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve met quite a few over at the knight brigade, but I just thought they were barely out of apprenticeship or something.¡± ¡°So Mister Haster really is an amazing magician, and Yuuri is a completely nonsensical magician then.¡± ¡°Sounds about right.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t agree with her¡ª?!¡± For some reason, it turned into a meeting to bully me, so let¡¯s just cut it off right here. Any more than this, and I¡¯m at a disadvantage. ¡°Well, I guess we can just say it¡¯s a good thing we found out now?¡± ¡°I suppose so. I will make sure to only use simple things like [Wind Bolt] and [Wind Blade] in front of people from now on too.¡± ¡°We¡¯re weapons. If Alec and I keep walking around with cheap swords forever, that might be suspicious too.¡± ¡°Should we go find suitable replacements, Master?¡± Whoops, one more thing. There¡¯s something I need to make sure of. ¡°Marle has her registration card now, so how about she goes to take the academy¡¯s entrance test?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still tired from today, so I was thinking we could go tomorrow. And besides, if there¡¯s any studying I can do for the test, I¡¯d like to do that too.¡± ¡°Then how about we go to the guild and investigate? If we¡¯re lucky, they might have last year¡¯s exercise book or something.¡± ¡°Oh, that could be good.¡± And so, that afternoon Alec and Haster went to the weapon shop, while Marle, Miss Levy and I went to the guild. Oddly enough, it was split into the boys and the girls. ~*~ ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the three girls today? Been a while, Levy.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Yeah, well I ain¡¯t gonna come by every day.¡± ¡°Miss Remy, you¡¯re at the reception desk again today?¡± I almost feel like she¡¯s always the receptionist here¡­ ¡°Well, if I don¡¯t keep on the watch, a certain official who uses adventurers like consumable good is going to show up.¡± She glanced behind her out of the side of her eyes. At the end of her line of sight was a seemingly high-strung, uniformed, and frivolous feeling staff member. ¡°This city has a pile of adventurers after all. To keep us from doing anything unnecessary, the country¡¯s observer comes by to monitor us.¡± She covertly whispered to us. I guess they can¡¯t really ignore the kind of power the guild has in a city filled with adventurers like this. It¡¯s even possible the all-encompassing existence of the guild could rapidly turn on the country of Novelius itself at a moment¡¯s notice. It would be impossible to suppress. I guess it just makes sense they would place surveillance to meddle with the guild and make sure they don¡¯t get out of control. By weakening the power of the adventurers¡­ In other words, sending them to their deaths and reducing their numbers for example. For Miss Remy, who is acting in direct operation of the guild, that is extremely troublesome. ¡°I understand their thinking, but¡­ That just smells fishy. I don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°Sure does. Any quests they hand out are the requests ya just barely have the abilities for. They ain¡¯t very well liked for it.¡± ¡°You and your group should watch out for them too, Yuurin. With that said, let¡¯s get back to business. What would you like today?¡± Miss Remy quickly pulled her features together and switched to business mode. Just what you would expect from a professional. Although she does give off a slightly overly-friendly feeling. In any case, Marle¡¯s exam comes first for now. ¡°You know she wants to enter the academy, right? We actually wanted to know what kind of tests there were in the past, or what they tend towards. We were wondering if you had that kind of info here.¡± ¡°Oho, you sure do know how to use the guild, Yuurin. Naturally, we do have records of the previous exams here.¡± ¡°Then we would like¡ª¡° ¡°Of course you know it¡¯s not free, right?¡± ¡°Urk?! How much is it?¡± Leave it to the veteran receptionist. I guess we can¡¯t just get it at no cost, huh? ¡°Aww, don¡¯t be all stingy, Remy. Ya¡¯ll are gonna take money from a little girl like this?¡± ¡°Whether it be this girl or any other girl, the guild¡¯s services come at a price. In any case, the overview would cost 10 silver coins. Detailed info is 30 silver coins.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we get half off or somethin¡¯?¡± ¡°If you plan on making up the difference, then sure, half is fine.¡± ¡°Well shoot, I ain¡¯t been gettin¡¯ much income lately¡­¡± Miss Levy¡¯s attempt at assistance tragically sunk. Although yesterday¡¯s reward will pay for it, it¡¯s a fair bit. Well, 30 coins isn¡¯t really a big deal though. ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll pay 30 coins; give us the detailed¡ª¡° ¡°Ah, let me pay, Yuuri.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t really a big deal for me, you know?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t any use at all this time, so even having you pay for me would make me feel bad.¡± Saying she was ¡°no use at all¡± has to be a joke. The fact she helped us avoid a surprise attack the first day was a huge value. She has a strong sense of caution, making her area of area of view much wider than the more rough Alec and Haster. Now that I think about it, she was kidnapped by those bandits when she was 8 because she found them hiding, didn¡¯t she. ¡°It¡¯s thanks to you that we managed to avoid a surprise attack the first day. You were very far from unhelpful.¡± ¡°Even if that¡¯s so, this is an expense for my sake. It only makes sense that I pay, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Hrmm, she¡¯s bringing ¡®sense¡¯ into this? ¡­ My demanding to make the payment myself would probably just make her mood bad. I may as well yield this one. If we¡¯re too overprotective of her, it might make her end up feeling like a guest with us. And feeling like a guest is something I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t want either. ¡°I understand. But I¡¯m only giving this to you because I think of you as a companion, okay?¡± ¡°Thank you, Yuuri.¡± Normally this would probably be the scene where we clasps hands together, but I can¡¯t very easily touch Marle yet, so that thought is rejected. How unfortunate. My social phobia has gotten considerably better, but complete recovery is still far away. ¡°Female friendship is so nice. Ahh, youth.¡± ¡°Eh, ain¡¯t we got somethin¡¯ like that too?¡± ¡°What ever might you be speaking of?¡± ¡°Y¡¯know, the letter¡­¡± ¡°On principle, I try not to look back at the past.¡± ¡°What in the hell! Gimme back those feelings I had, y¡¯hear?!¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s embarrassing to say it straight out, isn¡¯t it?¡± Looks like there¡¯s plenty of youth over there too, huh¡­? ~*~ The file given to us by Miss Remy described five years worth of academic test problems, as well as physical and magical strength tasks. Naturally there¡¯s no need to clear all of them, but the policy appears to be in investigating your abilities, listening to your desires, and then in deciding your course through the exam. As a result, if you clear the exam for your desired course, you pass. If not, then you can either choose to change your course, or retake the exam. ¡°For the academic exam, either me or Has¡­ Al should be able to help. Physical strength and magic should probably be left to Al. After all, Ale¡ªahem¡­ Bern is bad at teaching things.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true, is it? A¡ª, Sir Bern is good enough that he seems suited to being a teacher.¡± ¡°Really now? In that case, how about we leave that to Bern, and have you take the exam in about a week? We¡¯ll make certain to get everything into you by then.¡± If we have that long, her training should be showing results by then. And in the worst case, if we don¡¯t make it in time, we could have her drink the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡±¡­ ¡°Miss Remy, would we still make it in time?¡± ¡°The deadline is in three weeks, so that would leave plenty of time.¡± ¡°Then we will go with that. We¡¯ll train your physical abilities in the labyrinth. On rest days you¡¯ll be studying history and magic with me.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± And so, we gave it our all as we prepared Marle for her exams. Chapter 86: The Labyrinth’s Effects Chapter 86: The Labyrinth¡¯s Effects Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations That day we planned to rest, without entering the labyrinth, so Marle¡¯s special training started the very same day. She may be a pampered child, but the academy is going to have practical training in the labyrinth, so we can¡¯t be overprotective of her. Academics are a must, along with training in physical strength, fighting skills, and magic. ¡°And so, Marle, for your first day we¡¯ll start with physical training through the morning. In the afternoon Yuuri will be in charge of your academic learning. Any questions?¡± ¡°None! Thank you for your help!¡± ¡°Ummm¡­ Why am I here too?¡± Lined up next to Marle, wearing clothes that are easy to move in, I asked in doubt. I mean, it¡¯s supposed to be her training, so that question seems obvious. ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re joining in, Yuuri. Succeeding in the labyrinth is more rough than we expected. You¡¯re going to need at least enough endurance to walk a few kilometers.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Well sure, but¡­¡± ¡°Which is why you¡¯re joining in. Relax, I¡¯ll be sure to give you a massage later.¡± ¡°I have a feeling it¡¯s not going to end there, but¡­ I understand. I¡¯ll participate.¡± It¡¯s certainly true that traveling this massive labyrinth is going to require enough stamina to march long distances. Getting the necessary stamina now probably wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea. This time I¡¯ll finally break away from being a little string bean! ¡°Well then, hurry and get started¡­ Is what I was thinking, but first a question for you. What do you think is the most important conclusion on the battlefield?¡± ¡°Important conclusion¡­? That¡¯s winning of course, right?¡± She was born in a generation which has only heard of war in fairy tales, so it makes sense she would answer that way, but¡­ That¡¯s not quite right. Well, I haven¡¯t exactly been in a war either, but I do have knowledge gained from reading and movies. So rather than from experience, I could answer from simple information. ¡°That is incorrect, Marle. The correct answer is survival. Even if you¡¯re on the winning side, it doesn¡¯t mean much if you¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°Oooh, I see.¡± ¡°You got it. And the most important things for survival are not magic or skills, but decision-making and stamina. We¡¯re going to train that stamina into you now.¡± ¡°Right!¡± The two of us answered together. Marle is raring to go too. And so, following Haster¡¯s guidance, we ended up running around the grassy plains on the outskirts of the city. ~*~ ¡°Wheeze,wheeze¡­ Cough, groan¡± ¡°Haa, haa¡­¡± Thirty minutes later. We had all run around the untouched prairie. I¡¯m already dead tired, but Marle seems like she can still keep going. She¡¯s more tough than I realized. ¡°Actually¡­ Isn¡¯t she¡­ Too¡­ Tough¡­?¡± It¡¯s only thirty minutes¡­ Is something you might think, but it¡¯s a whole lot harder to run on unpaved, weather-beaten earth. Moreover, our bodies are those of children who haven¡¯t even developed. The fact that I could run for thirty minutes is practically a miracle. Even if she has more physical endurance than me¡­ The difference being this large is actually a shock for me. In the end we continued running for a total of one hour, stretched and did calisthenics for flexibility, then climbed trees and walked across logs to train our sense of balance. After that, our morning training was over. ~*~ ¡°I¡­ I am¡­ The teacher¡­ For the afternoon. It¡¯s going to¡­ Be really tough¡­ So I hope¡­ You¡¯re ready!¡± shake, shake, twitch, rattle While my legs shook like I was part of a sketch comedy, I stood in front of a blackboard. My body hasn¡¯t had a chance to recover in only the time of our lunch. ¡°Yuuri, you don¡¯t need to stand if it¡¯s too hard¡­¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t stand, then I can¡¯t reach the blackboard.¡± ¡°Ah~¡­¡± Marle gave me an eyes-half-open look as if to say it just figures. ¡°Let¡¯s leave that aside. According to the red book you bought from Miss Remy¡ª¡° ¡°Red book?¡± ¡°It¡¯s what we call reference books for tests in my hometown.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°Anyway, that doesn¡¯t matter¡­ Let¡¯s continue. First, according to the information, the questions are from the basics of historical legends, geography, language, and arithmetic. Let¡¯s go after these and get a good grasp of them.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°For history, we will have Haster-Sensei come and teach us.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t going to be teaching, Yuuri?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so good with history.¡± Seeing as I came from a different world in the first place, I¡¯m hardly well-versed enough in this world¡¯s history to be teaching it to someone else. As for the ratio of questions on the test, the ones based on history were the most plentiful, so we were starting from there. It has nothing to do with me getting some rest. It¡¯s true, okay? ~*~ After three hours of commentary on history, a one hour test was given to check her understanding. Wha? The result was 80% correct¡­ Was she always this smart? ¡°80%¡­ Are you a genius, Marle?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so? But it feels like things are staying in my head really easily today.¡± ¡°Hum¡­?¡± She hasn¡¯t drunk the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡± yet. Let¡¯s ¡°Appraise¡± her. The result showed her various abilities far exceeded those of an average 10 year old, and were closer to those of an average adult. ¡°¡­ Without it?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Did something happen?¡± I told her and Haster how her abilities had greatly increased. When I checked her a few weeks back, she still had those of an ordinary child. Her current numbers are nearly than 1.3 times those of back then. ¡°Hrmm¡­ I had heard the inside of the labyrinth is a field with a special power; that it rapidly increases your growth as your battles pile up¡­ That may just be the cause of it.¡± ¡°But I haven¡¯t grown much at all?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably because you¡¯ve grown an unbelievable amount already. The amount of magic power you have is no joke, you know?¡± Wouldn¡¯t that make it the same logic as a game, where your growth decreases as you gain levels? Well, that type of trend already exists in actual abilities though¡­ ¡°We did have an out-of-the-norm number of battles yesterday. There is a real possibility her growth is a result of that.¡± ¡°In that case, won¡¯t she soon reach a level at which using the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡± would be perfectly fine?¡± ¡°I suppose. If she used it now, she probably wouldn¡¯t reach mine or Alec¡¯s abilities, but she¡¯ll probably catch up soon.¡± If she can get stronger than normal by fighting battles in the labyrinth, that could make a big change in her training agenda. Come to think of it, Bahamut said the upper floors would be tough even for us, but there¡¯s hardly anything out there stronger than we are. I highly doubt he was stronger than us when he first entered the labyrinth. But if he grew that strong through growth in the labyrinth, then it makes some sense. ¡°Which means it might be best to continue taking her along with us into the labyrinth then?¡± ¡°That¡­ I wonder? All we¡¯ve done so far is wander around the first floor. We have no idea how dangerous the floors above it are, so bringing her along is spite of that¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good point.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Marle is fidgeting about as if there¡¯s something she¡¯s having trouble saying. I know exactly what those signs mean. Yes¡ª ¡°Need to use the bathroom?¡± ¡°No! I wanted to say that if I¡¯m going to the labyrinth, then I want to do so when I am actually useful!¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t going to force you along. We would have it tough by staying in the labyrinth for long periods of time anyway. How about you come along with us in the lower floors when you have the time?¡± ¡°Ah, umm¡­ In that case, I will.¡± But seriously, the labyrinth is just way too huge. Even just progressing through and capturing the floors is a huge job. According to what Miss Remy was saying, the monsters on the lower floors don¡¯t go near the adventurers who have made it to the upper floors as much. So she said making it back to the floor you were on doesn¡¯t take as much time, but¡­ Even so, getting to the current 232nd floor is quite the distance. When searching the floors, four layers in a day is the limit. Even just passing through would probably only allow for ten layers maximum. Which means just joining in a search of the upper layers would require staying in the labyrinth for 8 nights. When Bahamut talked about it, he mentioned he spent five years in the labyrinth, but now I understand why. ¡°To increase the rate at which the labyrinth can be cleared, it might be best if we consider a means of transportation within the labyrinth.¡± ¡°I suppose so. When I heard that story I thought, ¡°Yeah, right!¡± but seeing the actual thing, it is pretty huge.¡± ¡°Maybe we should try thinking of a horse carriage that can be ridden up to the upper layers.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it get attacked if a horse was pulling it?¡± ¡°Yeah, good point¡­¡± If a horse entered the labyrinth, the monsters inside would rightly see it as easy prey. Besides, with the stairways leading to upper floors, it would be tough for a horse carriage to go up to the next floors¡­ ¡°Hmmm, it takes legs to climb stairs after all. I guess there isn¡¯t any golem-type magic out there, huh?¡± ¡°Hm? There is.¡± ¡°There is?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s outside my area of expertise, so I don¡¯t know much about it, but a magician well-versed in earth attribute magic should know.¡± If there is, then tell me, please! Which means it¡¯s just a question of who to ask, but¡­ If, like usual, I¡¯m doing the development, that means there¡¯s definitely a problem. Didn¡¯t I just say I would tone it down? Maybe it would be best to suggest it to the guild and have them use their personal ties? But as a newcomer, I don¡¯t have any kind of persuasive power with them. Wait, if I need someone better acquainted with the guild to talk to them, then there¡¯s Miss Levy, isn¡¯t there? ¡°Teleportation magic is our ace in the hole, so we¡¯ll save that for now¡­ It might be worth a try to suggest development of a golem-pulled carriage to the guild.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any weight with them, so Miss Levy will.¡± ¡°Her, huh¡­ I suppose with how she¡¯s wandered the world a big more, her thoughts might be more persuasive.¡± While we talked, the practical application of ideas unfolded one after another. It would cost a lot if we made it for individual parties, but if it was enlarged to carry a large number of people, those costs would decrease. If we made connecting routes every ten levels, they could be ridden one after another, and you could probably reach the front lines within a day. An escort for the carriage (pending) would be¡­ Unnecessary I suppose. The ones riding it are adventurers, after all. Assuming a battle does break out, having no roof on it would probably be best, to allow for quick participation, right? ¡°Fufufu, your vastness has become your enemy, World Tree¡­¡± With how wide and tall it is, a large style carriage can easily pass through. The state of the art rail system of my old world in Japan was complex enough that it was sometimes called insane. Using it as reference, I may be able to make a World Tree Railway system. If we keep the fare cheap, the adventurers would be able to use it freely, and they¡¯ll probably be glad for it. It should even help speed up the labyrinth clearing. It would increase the input of manpower on the front lines, after all. One possible problem would be from the country¡¯s side, looking at the guild with enmity, but¡­ We¡¯ll think of some way to wrap it up so they¡¯ll accept it. For example if we say, ¡°If the number of people on the front lines increases, the danger will increase, and so might the deaths,¡± or something like that, they¡¯ll probably fold. ¡°Mister Haster, Yuuri¡¯s got an evil look on her face again¡­¡± ¡°It happens all the time, best to just get used to it. I¡¯ll be sure to punish her later¡­ Sexually.¡± Why do I need any kind of punishment here, Haster?! Several days later, the ¡°World Tree Adventurer Transport Golem Plan¡± was organized and set up by the guild, or something like that¡­ Chapter 87: Examination Chapter 87: Examination Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations After some of this and that, a week passed by. When Marle¡¯s abilities had reached a safe zone, we headed for the academy to take the exam. If there¡¯s one thing worrying me, I guess it would be Alec¡¯s ¡°sweet, loving sword practice¡± he was in charge of? Following the map we received from Miss Remy, we passed through the academy¡¯s gates. Moreover, I¡¯m the only one with her. Haster and Alec are out for new swords (with the story being they destroyed their previous ones through repeated battle) which they¡¯re supposed to be picking up, while Miss Levy is out on a date with Miss Remy, apparently. A little more than a dozen children, from a variety of races, had gathered in the testing area. ¡°W-will I be okay? Yuuri, do you think I¡¯ll pass? Hey, will I?¡± ¡°Calm down. You¡¯ve been getting a great education from us this past week; you¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°But this is the first time I¡¯ve taken a test¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ll never know what will happen until you try. ¡°It¡¯s easier to deliver than to worry¡± is what I mean¡­ Though delivery is tough for me.¡± Marle was stiff with tension at the testing site. I guess we¡¯ll have to do something about this, huh¡­? ¡°Marle, calm down and take in your surroundings. Look, they¡¯re all just ordinary children. They don¡¯t look like much, right?¡± ¡°Ha-wha-wha-wha! Yuuri, you¡¯re being too loud!¡± Timid and wound up by my words, Marle took caution of those around her. I guess my voice was a little loud though, as I was getting a few dirty looks from some of them. However, the ones around her really were only boys and girls from age 10 to 15. Their age is one thing, but by their looks they were either countryside ride-alongs, or pampered aristocrats. The shining example being a strange blonde girl with her hair in long rolls, letting out a high-pitched laugh¡­ What the heck is with that? W-well, apparently there are some strange ones among them, but none of them look like they¡¯ll be able to surpass the girl we¡¯ve been training up. Probably. So with her fellow test-takers known, the examiner entered the room. ¡°Thank you all for waiting. Now then, we would like to start the autumn term entrance exam. Everyone, please find a seat near you.¡± ¡°It-it¡¯s started?!¡± ¡°Buckle down. This isn¡¯t nearly as scary as bandits, right?¡± ¡°But, but¡­¡± ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be waiting outside, so I¡¯ll meet you when you¡¯re done.¡± I waved lightly to her and, as I was headed to the door, the examiner stopped me. ¡°Hey-, what are you doing? Please move.¡± ¡°I said we¡¯re starting the test, didn¡¯t I? Would you please hurry and find a seat?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just an escort. I¡¯m not here to take the test, okay?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Yuurin.¡± ¡°Your name¡¯s on the list.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± I grab at the examiner¡¯s list to check, and¡­ Sure enough, the name ¡°Yuurin¡± is there. I thought it must be someone else of the same gender with the same name, but following that was the name of the one who gave the recommendation. Written clearly there was the name: Haster Albine! ¡°But why?!¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t ask me. Anyway, your name¡¯s here, as you see, so go on and take the exam.¡± ¡°This is weird! We only submitted a letter of recommendation for Marle. Why is my name¡­¡± ¡°Ooh, you¡¯re Sir Haster¡¯s recommendation? There were two names written on that letter.¡± ¡°Y-¡­ You planned this, didn¡¯t you Hasteeeeer?!¡± Uhh¡ª¡­ So that¡¯s why I ended up taking the test too. ~*~ For three hours in the morning there was a test over historical legends, arithmetic, geography, and languages. This was apparently to get a feel for our foundational academic abilities, so it wasn¡¯t very strongly emphasized. That said, a higher score is still more favored. Based on our self-grading, Marle and I should have gotten nearly perfect marks. And then, the part given the most attention is, of course, practical abilities. Battle skills, scouting skills¡­ And magic power. The first test was in scouting abilities. Getting an accurate idea of your abilities would be tough if your hands are trembling after swinging a sword around, which is why this is the first test. Similarly with magic, if the students use their magic forcefully, some of them will experience dizziness, so it was set as the last test. Now, about the contents of the test. Behind the academy is a mock forest, and after passing through it, in its center is a treasure box. Bring the box¡¯s contents back with you¡­ Is what the test was supposed to be, but¡­ My results on this test didn¡¯t leave any great achievements behind. Since it¡¯s something I haven¡¯t studied, it should hardly be surprising. In comparison, Marle showed some surprisingly good results. She suffered complete defeat in her disarming skills, but she showed a strong sense of caution, and did well finding enemies in her surroundings. She¡¯s a wild child raised in the countryside, but maybe it¡¯s because she¡¯s the attentive type of little girl? ¡°Mm, you know¡­ Recently I feel like my senses have gotten sharper. Is it because of going in the labyrinth?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten any power-up like that though.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s because you¡¯re already strong, Yuuri.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not strong. In total, I¡¯ve lost more than I¡¯ve won.¡± Just how many times has Haster saved me¡­? It¡¯s hard to really say I¡¯m ¡°strong¡±. While we were waiting, and as our chat was getting interesting, a somewhat shrill voice echoed around us. ¡°Goodness! I am a healer. This type of savage test is hardly suited for me!¡± ¡°Yeeeaah, no kiddiiing. I haven¡¯t ever learned anything but swords, so you have my apologies for not being able to do more than support.¡± ¡°That is not your own fault, Alma. It is a question of aptitude. They are forcing us into tests which do not match our abilities, and it makes no sense!¡± ¡°Weeeell, just take it slow until the magic test, milady.¡± It was the blonde curly-haired girl, shaking with anger as she came out of the forest. The one whose laugh was hurting my ears in the classroom before the tests. This isn¡¯t a big deal for us, so I didn¡¯t worry about it, but¡­ That laugh would be torture for anyone who was prone to nervousness. ¡°You¡¯ve got a problem before all that. Don¡¯t laugh so loudly as you¡¯re going into the forest. What kind of test do you think this is?¡± The examiner stared hard at her while giving cautionary advice, but it didn¡¯t feel like she was listening at all. I guess there really are girls who can¡¯t read the atmosphere out there. ~*~ The next exam was the battle skills test. They watched our skills with imitation swords, spears, axes, war hammers, and maces as we fought, win or lose. My result on this test was a crushing defeat as well. I¡¯m sure I could have easily won if I used [Body Reinforcement], but I never intended on passing in the first place. In contrast, Marle showed some good results here also. ¡­ In fact, isn¡¯t taking out five people with one dagger overdoing it? ¡°Marle, when did you¡­ Heck, what was that fighting style?!¡± Seeing her practically crawl along the ground in a low posture and jump in close to her opponents, I thought I was watching Spider-Man. The way she dodged attacks was like she was laughing in their faces, and she bathed her opponents in inverted vital-point slashes, almost like her main profession was assassination. To think Alec would teach this innocent girl such a gruesome fighting style; he¡¯s going to need some punishment later! ¡°Eh? But I was copying you, Yuuri.¡± ¡°Huh? Did I fight like that?¡± ¡°In your practice fights with Alec.¡± Come to think of it, I have trained with Alec a number of times using [Body Reinforcement], haven¡¯t I? Which means that low posture, maintaining three points of contact to keep from breaking ground, was my fighting style¡­? ¡°Marle, that¡¯s so cool!¡± I gave her a solid thumbs up, and she responded with the palms of her hands. Making a fuss over the little things would be wrong. All is well as long as she wins. Moving on, with the winners and losers of the battle skills test decided, the ones who came out on top were clear. Just like Marle, the girl called Alma took out five people, making the first position a tie between them. ~*~ And lastly, the magic test. In front of the testing grounds were gigantic withered trees, with their majesty laid bare. ¡°The last test is to face that tree and shoot magic at it. As you can see, it¡¯s withered, so whether you use attack magic or healing magic, the effects should show. That direct influence will allow us to measure how great your magic power is.¡± The examiner explained the contents of the test, but¡­ I¡¯m not enjoying the way they¡¯re handling this. Upon ¡°Appraising¡± that withered tree, it¡¯s actually a withered branch of the World Tree. Moreover, this particular gem has [Toughness] applied to it. What do they expect student-level examinees to do to it? The examiners didn¡¯t seem to expect anything to happen to it either, as all they did was measure the marks left by the water or fire magics sent at it. The unknowing examinees raucously exclaimed, ¡°I¡¯ll blow away some withered old tree!¡± but¡­ Of course that was impossible. ¡°There¡¯s a trick like that to it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re at a disadvantage no matter how serious you get against that.¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t even use magic yet, so I¡¯ll have to step out of this one anyway.¡± Unlike battle skills and scouting abilities, there¡¯s a clear understanding of who can and can¡¯t use magic, so anyone who can¡¯t quickly backed down. The only ones joining in were about half, seven people. Five of them had already finished, leaving only scratches. ¡°Ooohohohoho! My time to shine has finally come!¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Miss Curls. I guess she can use magic too.¡± ¡°You over there, that is rude!¡± She pointed straight over at me. Looks like she heard me I guess. ¡°For I, Marielle Blanche, number one student of the Sage of Water, a mere withered tree such as this¡­¡± ¡°Bufuwha?!¡± Ma-Ma-Ma-Marieeeelle?! The girl Haster said ¡°better not?¡± about, with a distant look in his eyes?! ¡°What¡¯s the student of one of the four great Sages doing here?!¡± ¡°Are you really one to talk, Yuuri¡­?¡± ¡°Naturally, it is because upon enrolling at this academy, I can receive full registration to search the labyrinth!¡± Except that¡¯s not quite accurate. Upon enrolling at the academy, you only get a registration, without question, for practical training purposes. In other words¡­ She came here by mistake? ¡°¡ªShe¡¯s an idiot.¡± ¡°You are quite the disrespectful child, aren¡¯t you¡­ Very well, pay careful attention! Observe my super magic!¡± Upon saying so, she deployed magic circles. There were¡­ Three of them?! At a glance, they¡¯re [Water], [Light], and [Life Force] attribute formulas? But there¡¯s more magic power in them than needed. Nevertheless, they interacted with each other, strengthened, and little by little the withered tree rejuvenated. The withered tree sprouted roots, spread its branches, grew a full set of leaves¡­ Upon the spell¡¯s completion, there stood a miniature world tree, more than a dozen meters tall. When the examiner saw the result, he dropped his pen, and he was shocked enough that his jaw almost dropped too. ¡°Hooohohohoho! What do you think? A splendid result, is it not! This is where my true value lies!¡± She has every right to that peal of laughter. I can¡¯t believe she brought that withered branch this far back from the brink of death. The Sage of Water, the Sage specialized in healing and recovery. This is her number one apprentice. ¡°The name isn¡¯t just for show, huh.¡± ¡°So you understand now! You may extol my abilities more if you wish?¡± ¡°Well, next is my turn; step back please.¡± ¡°Ah, my apologies.¡± She yielded the spot more easily than I expected. She doesn¡¯t fundamentally seem so bad. Well now, it¡¯s my turn, but¡­ I didn¡¯t have the slightest intention on passing from the start, and yet¡­ Seeing magic like that got my competitive spirit boiling. More importantly, I am the active ¡°Wind¡±. I can¡¯t lose out here. Standing on the grounds, I used my arms to block the sunlight, and looked into the air. Not a cloud in the sky. Okay then, not bad. I directed the magic power kneaded inside me towards the sky, and released it. Immediately after, six gigantic magic circles deployed in the sky above. ¡°Six of them?!¡± Curls¡­ Er, Marielle¡¯s shout of astonishment reached my ears. Sorry to disappoint, but it¡¯s not stopping at six. Connecting the various magic circles together, the seventh circle made its appearance. The hydrogen from the air was condensed, accelerated, and spun¡­ The drops of water were ionized through the magic, eventually easily breaking the sound barrier¡­ It was filled with tremendous energy, turning into plasma. ¡°¡­ [Synchrotron]!¡± I directed the energy-filled air towards the grown World Tree to knock it down. This is knowledge I gained when I was interested in things like charged particle cannons and rail guns. One by one the magic circles accelerate the particles, while the remaining five connect and give them a further boost. Bundling the whole thing together, the seventh one retains the shape of it. The [Rail Cannon] had no effect against Bahamut, so I devised this spell as a further increase in power. To get any more power than this, I would probably have to make nuclear weaponry. A flash of light that could only be described as ¡®blinding¡¯ reached the ground¡ª Everything in front of me was dyed white. There were probably vibrations too. But I couldn¡¯t hear anything. When I came to, everyone there had been blown back, and were unconscious. The little World Tree? Not a trace of it was left. A number of people had serious injuries, but there were luckily no deaths. Miss Marielle included, healers mobilized and ran over to go around restoring everyone. As a result, I was given a failing mark. ¡°Difficulty making situational judgments,¡± it said. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: I feel like some details in my information are wrong, but please be generous with me. Chapter 88: Handicapped Fight Chapter 88: Handicapped Fight Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations At dinner that night, I was sitting on Marle¡¯s lap, wearing a frilly dress as we ate. ¡°Okay Yuuri, say ¡®aaah¡¯.¡± ¡°A-aaah¡­¡± I bite down on the stew she brings to my mouth and chew. As for why things turned out like this¡­ ~*~ ¡°You said you would tone it down, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± ¡°You even hurt Marle.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I was forced to sit on my knees in front of Haster. I had been listening to his scolding for nearly two hours. That just makes sense though. I lost all self-restraint and unleashed a secret spell, developed for large-scale destruction, at the slightest provocation. Even I can only see my actions as idiotic. ¡°Why did you do something like that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Well¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± It¡¯s because I¡¯m immature. He¡¯s probably more angry than the time when I blew up the cottage. I trust him, so I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll toss me out like I thought back then, but¡­ I got frustrated with how pathetic I am, and the tears started welling up. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Sniff¡­ Sor¡­¡± ¡°Umm, Mister Haster, I am perfectly fine now, so maybe you could stop¡ª¡° ¡°No. What if Yuuri were to run wild in the labyrinth at some point? It may be harsh, but she needs to realize the importance of self-restraint.¡± ¡°I believe she is well aware of it! So¡­¡± Marle putting on such a threatening look was so unusual that Haster faltered for a moment, and then looked at me. Me, who had gotten all sloppy with tears and snot. I don¡¯t really want him to see me like this. But since I¡¯m sitting on my knees and being scolded, I can¡¯t really go hiding my face right now. ¡°Haa¡­ Fine. Then you get to give Yuuri her penalty. After that I¡¯ll chastise her, and this matter will be over.¡± ¡°Eh?! Y-you want me to¡­?¡± He breathed a sigh and decided on my punishment. For some reason he looks like a boy playing a prank right now though. ¡°Yes, but it has to be a real punishment, okay?¡± ¡°Sis can take most anything, so no need to hold anything back.¡± ¡°But¡­ Oh, but? Hmmm¡­¡± She appeared to be having trouble deciding something. With a quick peek she looked over to me, held down her nose¡­ Hold on a minute. That¡¯s the pose Haster usually takes when he gets excited, isn¡¯t it? Why would she¡­ I have a bad feeling about this. ¡°In that case¡­ I¡¯ve always wanted a doll, so¡­¡± ¡°Oho?¡± ¡°W-wait¡­¡± ¡°You have no right to speak at the moment Yuuri.¡± ¡°Ughu?!¡± ¡°I want Yuuri to play doll for me.¡± ¡®For¡¯? Not ¡®with¡¯, but ¡®for¡¯?! ¡°M-meaning?¡± ¡°Dressing you up, doing your hair¡­ Oh, I¡¯d like to feed you too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Perfect.¡± ¡°No it isn¡¯t!¡± ¡°It is a penalty.¡± ¡°Augh?!¡± ¡°Come to think of it, sis doesn¡¯t wear a lot of fancy dresses, huh? Plenty of simple ones and rougher outfits though.¡± Enjoying rough clothes is a carryover from when I was a man. I wear simpler dresses because they¡¯re comfortable, but¡­ Fancier ones are annoying, cramped, and I just don¡¯t like them. ¡°Outfits that stay tight around the body are¡­ I don¡¯t like restrictive clothes.¡± ¡°Really? I think they would look good on you though.¡± ¡°All the more reason if you don¡¯t like it. This is a ¡°penalty¡± after all.¡± ¡°Haster, your true motives are showing through.¡± ¡°Th-they most certainly are not. Probably¡­¡± He averted his gaze in a cold sweat. And that¡¯s when his reinforcements arrived. Miss Levy and Miss Remy. ¡°Hey, ya¡¯ll let me join in coordinatin¡® the outfits.¡± ¡°No fair! Let me get in on this too!¡± ¡°When did you two even get here?!¡± ¡°C¡¯mon we¡¯re a party. I¡¯ll still let ya take the lead, Marle.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a bunch of good outfits on hand. If you like, we could even buy new ones¡­¡± And so I was used as a dress-up doll for all sorts of costumes before eventually ending up on Marle¡¯s lap, eating. ~*~ Groan¡­ My butt fidgeted around as I sought some stable comfort. Even though I¡¯ve mostly gotten better in these five years, I still can¡¯t relax when coming in bodily contact with anyone other than Haster. If it wasn¡¯t her, I probably would have already turned into the puking heroine. Describing it in different levels, Haster is at the ¡°touch me more¡± level, while Alec and Marle are at the ¡°can¡¯t relax¡± level. Moreover, I would put Miss Levy very clearly at the ¡°get away from me already¡± level. Going even further, a complete stranger would be at the ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill you, asshole¡± level. ¡°Hey, Yuuri, that tickles, you know? Hold still.¡± ¡°I just can¡¯t seem to calm down like this. And these clothes are constraining.¡± ¡°Eeeh~? But Miss Remy went out of her way to give them to us. And besides, you¡¯re going to spill your food if you don¡¯t stay put.¡± ¡°She told Haster, ¡°you can get them dirty,¡± so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine.¡± As for why she would say that to him¡­ Okay, yeah, I know why. We¡¯re probably going into extra innings tonight. ¡°You know it¡¯s okay if you can¡¯t take any more? You don¡¯t need to push yourself.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m fine. This is a punishment, so I¡¯ll give it my all until I can¡¯t any more.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re still not okay with me, huh?¡± Her expression turned a little sad. It¡¯s been two years since meeting her. In that period, I can count the number of times we¡¯ve made physical contact. Maybe she wasn¡¯t satisfied with that? ¡°That¡¯s not how it is. Aside from Haster, you¡¯re number one, Marle.¡± I tried making a little excuse why patting Marle¡¯s head. Well, it¡¯s true she¡¯s the one I¡¯m most calm around besides Haster though¡­ With a young girl comforting a young girl, the mood in the restaurant turned warm and comforting. ¡°If this was Alec¡¯s lap, I¡¯m sure I would puke.¡± ¡°Wow, harsh much?!¡± ¡°Then do you want to test it?¡± ¡°No, thanks.¡± Surely he didn¡¯t want to be covered in puke while eating. He refused in haste. And so I was turned into Marle¡¯s ¡°doll¡± for a week. Also, the long nights were even more fierce than usual. Nights are harsh when your husband is a total demon. ~*~ Well now, a week passed since then. Marle stepped out of the party, and Miss Levy joined us in her place as we began searching floor two and above. ¡°Seriously though, are ya¡¯ll really beginners¡­? I ain¡¯t never marched along this easily before.¡± Miss Levy¡¯s grumbling is understandable. We¡¯re already at the fourth floor. Normally this would be the farthest we could reach in a day. And we already got there before two in the afternoon. This is the result of using [Sonar] to find enemies, avoid them or otherwise intercept them, and advancing at a ferocious pace. With this spell¡¯s effects, the positions of enemies aside, I can even figure out the entire landscape within 300 meters, so we hardly even get lost. ¡°I¡¯d like for us to try beating the guardian on the fifth floor if we can, but¡­¡± ¡°This pace is perfect if that¡¯s the goal, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t tell Marle we would be camping in here, and if we wanted to get back today we would only barely make it.¡± ¡°This ain¡¯t the conversation of a party on their tenth day in the labyrinth, y¡¯know¡­? I was gonna keep all quiet since it¡¯s ya¡¯ll¡¯s first time this far along, but there wasn¡¯t no point in that by the looks of it.¡± Riding along at our current pace, we climbed further along to the fifth floor. Following practically the shortest route possible, we arrived in front of what looked like a boss room. ¡°An¡¯ we really went an¡¯ made it¡­¡± ¡°Which means this is the boss room?¡± ¡°Yeah, but¡­ If I go on in, nothin¡¯s gonna appear.¡± ¡°Huh? Why?¡± ¡°¡®Cause I done beat it once already. Some reason, any boss ya beat once don¡¯t come back to fight ya again.¡± So that means something like individual flags are set up? But that means we¡¯ll have to fight it without the support of someone, like her, who¡¯s had experience with the boss. ¡°Well, it¡¯ll be fine. Probably.¡± ¡°Heck, we¡¯re aiming for the top floor. We should each be able to solo the first boss.¡± Alec is as optimistic as ever. It¡¯s already four o¡¯clock. If we wrap this battle up nice and quick, then take the shortest route back¡­ Maybe we could get back by eight o¡¯clock? ¡°Alright, all members, begin weapon inspections. If all is well, we¡¯ll head right in for the attack!¡± ¡°Riiiight.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± While I was inspecting my weapons, a short bow and Third Eye, Haster called over to me. ¡°Yuuri, no [Body Reinforcement] this time unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary.¡± ¡°Hm? Why?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s not fair. We wouldn¡¯t get any actual training out of this.¡± I can use it about three times a day, so I figured using it against the boss would be appropriate, but¡­ If we¡¯re talking unfair, then how are Haster with Cleaver and Alec with Sentinel any better? ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like we have any other weapons. Even so, I¡¯d like for us to get experience fighting as close a battle as possible. To do that, we need to restrict ourselves a bit.¡± ¡°Hmm~ a slowroll, huh? But isn¡¯t the boss here weak enough that I could make it kick the bucket if I just use a [Wind Blade] on it?¡± ¡°Roll¡­? Er, yeah, I know you could take it out in one hit and all, but¡­¡± ¡°Well, if you really want to have a tough fight, then I¡¯ll keep my magic sealed away. How about you try using your long sword, Haster?¡± With either [Body Reinforcement] or ¡°reinforced weapons,¡± the battle would hardly be very battle-like. Even the fights on the way here were all practically like chasing off bugs. He seemed either unsatisfied or, more likely, anxious about something when I said that. Possibly a sense of danger that comes with letting our guard down. ¡°As for Alec¡­ He needs his gift, so I guess there¡¯s not much we can do there.¡± ¡°Yeah, probably not. I use Sentinel for defense too, so I would actually be worried about getting any bad habits from using other weapons.¡± ¡°Then you focus on defense, Alec. The main attackers will be me and Yuuri with her bow. Levy, we¡¯ll call for you when the battle¡¯s over, so just wait here for us. I¡¯d like to see how far we can get like this.¡± ¡°Got¡¯cha.¡± She should be fine on her own for a bit with her ¡°Recognition Blocking.¡± Heck, she went solo before anyway, right? Well then, no magic, Third Eye, or Cleaver, plus Sentinel is essentially sealed off. We¡¯ll have our first boss battle with hardly any of our main fighting strength? Even I¡¯m a little worried about this, you know¡­? Actually, I feel like this doesn¡¯t make any logical sense. ¡°I feel like we¡¯ve been getting a little slack lately. Don¡¯t you think getting some feeling of tension back might be good for us, now that we¡¯ve come this far?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ I¡¯m getting more of a ¡°you¡¯re going that far?¡± kind of feeling.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. Levy, do you have information on our opponent?¡± ¡°¡®Course I do.¡± According to Levy, the boss is the Kobold Lord, along with some kobold archers. Apparently it¡¯s a larger version of the kobolds that were on the first floor. The archers are just like they sound; they¡¯re a bunch of them equipped with bows. I guess its large hatchet attacks are strong enough to be comparable to a troll¡¯s? And it¡¯s as tough as one well. Are the long distance attacks from the archers going to be a problem? ¡°In other words, we may as well think of it like fighting a troll¡­?¡± ¡°It ain¡¯t got the same regenerative abilities as them, so actually it¡¯s a little weaker.¡± ¡°That would be a little rough for most novices¡­ And that¡¯s why this is the first hurdle for beginners, huh?¡± ¡°Keepin¡¯ hold of a vigilant attitude after spendin¡¯ a long time here in the labyrinth ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ some skill-less idiot relyin¡¯ on strength alone can pull off so easy. So it¡¯s the wall any ol¡¯ novice has to climb if they wanna become a beginner.¡± ¡°It is pretty normal for enemy monsters to be physically stronger than humans, after all.¡± A breakaway from fighting by relying on strength alone. That¡¯s a point any adventurer will have to reach eventually. ¡°Okay, are we ready?¡± ¡°All set.¡± ¡°Watch out for the bows, Yuuri?¡± ¡°Just leave it to me.¡± My reflexes are one of my strong points. I¡¯ve got more than enough agility to dodge a few arrows. Probably. ¡°Yeah, counting on you. Right then¡­ Let¡¯s go!¡± With a trace of apprehension on his face, he placed his hand on the door. And so our first boss battle in the labyrinth, a handicapped match, began. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: The detailed reason for the handicap is in the next chapter¡­ Chapter 89: Revival Chapter 89: Revival Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Beyond the massive door was a room of about 20 meters to a side. In its center was a throne-like chair, with two kobolds on each its left and right. Upon the throne¡­ A kobold? The thing seated there was massive enough to make me doubt that, as it asserted its presence on the surroundings. ¡°Is that¡­ really a kobold?¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Me and Alec commented on reflex. Kobolds are normally 1 meter tall creatures that could be cute if you get used to them. But what stood there was practically something else entirely, far surpassing 3 meters. That must be¡­ A Kobold Lord. Recognizing our entry to the room, the Kobold Lord moved its huge body, grabbed the great sword at its side, and stood. The great sword¡­ The hatchet was big enough to be comparable to Sentinel. ¡°Here it comes!¡± ¡°GOOAAAAAA!!¡± The Kobold Lord¡¯s roar overlapped with Haster¡¯s tense voice. A heavy, pressing burden could be felt on our spirits. That shout probably held an ¡°Intimidation¡± effect. Haster and Alec both dashed forward at once. ¡°The first strike is mine!¡± Their movement stopped as they took up their weapons; aiming for that moment, I released an arrow. ¡ªThe target is the one on its right! Third Eye is tucked away, so it¡¯s a normal arrow, not an iron one. But if it¡¯s just a 1 meter tall kobold, then my short bow can do plenty of damage. The unreliably thin arrow, different from the usual, went exactly towards my target kobold, piercing through its eye and gouging into its brain. ¡°GIKII?!¡± The kobold cried out before collapsing. With a wound like that, it probably won¡¯t be rejoining the battle. ¡°GURUA?!¡± ¡°Not happening!¡± After one of its companions was shot, the Kobold Lord turned towards Haster, who had jumped in close to it, and swung in anger. Alec hit the side of its giant hatchet with Sentinel, deflecting the swing. With its stance broken, Haster faced its legs and swung his sword once. The dull blade couldn¡¯t tear through its thick muscles, but it did succeed in delivering a wound. ¡°GUWAN!¡± The scream of the kobolds and the creak of bows. Following those came the arrows of the kobold archers. One each for Haster and Alec, and one more for me. Alec used Sentinel and Haster used his armor to deflect them, while I ducked down to dodge. With how small my body is, laying low to the ground is a perfectly viable defensive posture. Moreover, I often take this position for close combat when I use [Body Reinforcement] to keep three points of contact, so I¡¯m used to maneuvering like this. Upon dodging the arrow, I follow up by rolling along the ground to change position, and aim for the one getting another arrow ready on the very left. When I released the arrow, it flew right on target into its neck, rendering another one powerless. The battle continued in this way for a bit, with Haster attacking the Kobold Lord, me taking out the henchmen, and Alec serving as Haster¡¯s guard. ~*~ I think about 10 minutes have passed since the battle began? ¡°Only 10?¡± you¡¯re probably thinking, but 10 minutes is really long when moving at full power the whole time. Kendo and karate matches are limited to 5 minutes. Even in sumo, if a match goes on longer than 4 minutes there are times when they¡¯ll take breaks. Haster was breathing more heavily, and he was visibly moving more poorly. Alec wasn¡¯t giving full strength the whole time because he was focusing on defense, so it looked like he could keep going, but as for me, my shooting hand was getting numb. I¡¯ve shot the bow 9 times already, and my quiver of normal arrows was down to 3. The kobold archers were annihilated, and the Kobold Lord was covered in wounds. Our side is fatigued, and our opponent¡¯s movements have dulled from its wounds. Just when it was feeling like a stalemate¡ª ¡°HAH!¡± ¡°GUGEE?!¡± Haster¡¯s sword dug into the Kobold Lord¡¯s armpit, and made it bleed grievously. Important blood vessels often run through the armpit (this differs depending on the creature, of course), so a wound like that is usually fatal. Considering the amount of bleeding, it was undoubtedly a vital point for the Kobold Lord. Swords met between it and Haster 2, 3 more times, but the Kobold Lord¡¯s weakness was growing intense. The fight was essentially over. I breathed a small sigh of relief, and in that exact moment¡ª Haster suddenly pulled back the sword he was going to defend with, and the Kobold Lord¡¯s last attack hit his body¡­ And split it. In two. ¡°Eh¡ª¡° I¡¯m not sure what just happened. This doesn¡¯t make sense. Why is he in two pieces? Alec screamed something and delivered the final blow to the Kobold Lord. Now only an upper half, Haster went into convulsions¡ª ¡°N-NOOOOO!!!¡± I threw my bow away, and ran over to him. Haster¡¯s eyes were clouded over, and probably couldn¡¯t see anything anymore. Of course his breathing stopped¡­ It makes sense, since the diaphragm he would need for breathing isn¡¯t attached anymore. I clung to his corpse and lost my composure, unable to do anything about the miserable scene in front of me¡­ All I could to was hold him. ¡°What done happened?!¡± Lastly, the door opened and Miss Levy came running. She must have guessed something happened from my scream. ¡°Aah¡­ Uwaa! Waaaaaah?!¡± I couldn¡¯t even form coherent words at this point, and turned into something which could only let out sobs asking for help. ¡°Kh?! Th-this ain¡¯t¡­ Ergh, over here, bring ¡®im this-a-way!¡± ¡°Got it. Sis¡­ Come on, let¡¯s go!¡¯ Following her orders, Alec carried me, and Haster¡¯s remains. After that¡­ I don¡¯t remember. ~*~ When I came to my senses, there was a house of ice inside the labyrinth. It was made using a cavity in the passageway, caging ourselves inside, making the walls using [Water Wall], then solidifying them using [ Freeze]. That was probably the choice because there¡¯s no ground inside the labyrinth to use [Earth Wall] with. The ice walls prevent enemy intrusion, and if they¡¯re broken, the cracking ice will make a bunch of noise to act as an alarm. Its constructed in that fashion. Unlike [Earth Walls], they also transparent, so we can see what¡¯s on the other side of them. It¡¯s a little cold, but considering its convenience, that¡¯s a small price to pay. ¡°Where are¡­¡± ¡°Just a small corner o¡¯ the labyrinth.¡± ¡°What time¡­¡± ¡°Been ¡¯round four hours since then.¡± ¡°¡­ Where is he?!¡± What about Haster?! I was too distressed to think about it at the time, but he¡¯s ¡°Immortal¡±. He shouldn¡¯t die just because he was sliced in two! ¡°It looks like his body is done regenerating. It¡¯s a lot slower than yours, sis.¡± ¡°To think ya¡¯ll had the ¡°Immortality¡± gift¡­¡± Miss Levy sounded amazed. ¡°Heart¡¯s gone back to beatin¡¯ too. Just gotta wait for him to wake up now.¡± ¡°Thank goodness¡­¡± Along with his relief, Alec looked at him with a trace of umbrage in his eyes. He was supposed to be acting as the guard¡­ Is probably what he¡¯s thinking about. ¡°No, actually¡­ This might sound like an excuse, but I feel like Master pulled his sword out of the way on purpose right then, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°And why would he have to do something like that?¡± ¡°The hell if I know!¡± My tone made it sound like I was blaming him, so he raised his voice in refutation. But we can¡¯t have something like this happen again. Let¡¯s pursue this a little deeper. ¡°If he pulled his sword away, a fatal wound was guaranteed. Everyone there knew that. So why would he have to do it in spite of that?¡± ¡°I just said I don¡¯t know¡­ Ask Master yourself once he wakes up.¡± I wanted to pursue this calmly, but it would seem my voice came out more coldly than I was trying for. Alec must have guessed I didn¡¯t mean to sound that way, as the force behind his voice quickly withered. ¡°I understand. We will leave that for later. But we can¡¯t have this¡­¡± ¡°I know. We can¡¯t have this happen again; I won¡¯t let this happen again. I would even swear it on this World Tree.¡± To my cuttingly cold voice, Alec put strength and determination behind his reply. ~*~ One hour later, Haster opened his eyes, safe and sound. ¡°Haster! U¡ªuwaaaaaah!¡± ¡°Eh¡­ Aah, guess I worried you.¡± Upon jumping directly into his chest and immediately crying, he gently, but firmly, hugged me. My face is touching where he regenerated at. The skin there is exposed, and smooth like a baby¡¯s bum. By the way, everything below his chest is buck naked right now. ¡°¡ªWhat¡¯s the situation?¡± ¡°After you died, Master, we rushed out of the room. Right now we¡¯re camping in a cavity at the side of the passageway.¡± ¡°About how long has it been?¡± ¡°Been ¡¯round five hours.¡± ¡°That long, huh¡­¡± Alec¡¯s voice was tinged with criticism. Moving his sword out of the way to take a hit on purpose¡­ That action kept Alec from being able to fulfill his role. He¡¯s probably angry about that. Haster must have guessed that too, as he replied back to us in an explanatory voice while scratching his cheek. ¡°Yuuri, Alec, sorry about that¡­ I just had to try it now when I had a chance. To see the performance of my ¡°Immortality¡±.¡± ¡°Then you should at least tell us beforehand!¡± ¡°If I said something, would you let me? ¡®I¡¯m going to die now, don¡¯t interfere¡¯ for example.¡± ¡°¡­ Urk?!¡± There¡¯s no way I would let that happen. But still¡­ That¡¯s horrible, you know? ¡°Well, let me explain a little bit. The ¡°Immortality¡± abilities of Bahamut and Yuuri have vastly different times on their regeneration. While exploring the labyrinth, when we encounter some unexpected situation, knowing how long it will take for me to recover may be very important information. Which is why I wanted to test the performance of ¡°Immortality¡± now, when we have relatively more leeway.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why you suggested we limit our magic and weapons for this?¡± ¡°Well¡­ Yeah.¡± So that¡¯s why it felt like a nonsense reason, when he gave the unusually forceful advice to intentionally be negligent in our battle. It was in preparation so he would have a chance to die. ¡°Ya didn¡¯t have to go up against a boss just for somethin¡¯ like that.¡± ¡°I wanted to try it at the safest time possible, but to get killed I needed something strong enough to be considered an ¡°enemy,¡± so¡­ Well, it was a balance between those.¡± After listening up to that point, something inside of me snapped. I swung my arm with every last ounce of strength I had, and slapped his cheek. ¡°Yeowch?!¡± ¡°Just how worried do you think you made us?! How worried I was! How worried Alec was!¡± ¡°Yuuri, don¡¯t be forgettin¡¯ about mee.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± I roared back at Miss Levy¡¯s interruption, and had her clam it. ¡°I understand that testing ¡°Immortality¡± was necessary! But wasn¡¯t there a better way to do it?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. I¡¯m reflecting on my actions.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare¡­ I don¡¯t want¡­ To ever see something like that¡­ Ever again¡­ Please.¡± ¡°I promise. I won¡¯t do it again, and you won¡¯t see that again.¡± Saying that, he hugged me and planted a kiss on my cheek¡­ The kiss was clearly an attempt to restore my mood, but I¡¯m easy, so my sourness dissipated a bit. ¡°I understand. I hear you, but¡­ I¡¯m still mad, okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, not much I can do now, but sorry.¡± I paid him back by hugging him tight and digging my nails into his back. He seemed to take it pretty nicely and¡ª ¡°Hey, you two mind?¡± Alec decided to butt in. The mood was just getting good; don¡¯t get in the way now. A little more and I would have toppled him. ¡°What should we do about today? I know it would be hard, but I¡¯d like it if we could get back.¡± Now that he mentions it, it¡¯s already 9:00p.m. Since we¡¯ve cleared the 5th floor, we should be able to return by midnight if we really push it. And Marle will probably be worried, since we didn¡¯t plan on camping in here¡­ ¡°I suppose, yeah. It would probably be best not to push it, but¡­ Shall we do an after-regeneration physical check while we head back?¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re being dangerous again!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I really won¡¯t do anything reckless this time.¡± ¡°That bein¡¯ the case, let¡¯s get hurryin¡¯ on back¡­ Time starts feelin¡¯ kinda ambiguous inside the labyrinth, but if we can get back, then it¡¯d be best to go back.¡± Miss Levy stood up, and dispelled the [Water Wall] and [Freeze] magic. Meanwhile Alec doused the campfire and made preparations. ¡°C¡¯mon, Haster, ya¡¯ll too. That ¡°manhood¡± o¡¯ yours needs to go away, yeah?¡± Everything below his chest is completely bare, so, well¡­ It¡¯s in plain view. He looks like a 12 or 13 year old boy, and yet his prided ¡°thing¡± is very adult. ¡°Uwooooaaaah?!¡± He looked to be even more disarrayed in his panic than when he took the Kobold Lord¡¯s attack. And so, on our 10th day we ranked up from ¡°Novices¡± to ¡°Beginners¡±. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: I think it¡¯s a little distorted, but if I didn¡¯t put in a scene where his regeneration is measured, then I felt like it would have consequences later on, so¡­ Chapter 90: Classroom Visitation Chapter 90: Classroom Visitation Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: Please be aware that this entire chapter is in Marle¡¯s point of view. --------------------------------------------------------------- A month has passed since I was accepted into the academy. Thanks to the intensive training with Yuuri and the rest, I achieved the top rank among the new students. As such, I was assigned to a place called ¡°Class A¡±. That very Yuuri not having passed was very surprising to me, but I can take care of myself. For now I will try giving it my best. However, I was told the results of the aptitude tests upon acceptance, and they said I have aptitude as a swordsman and a scout. Unfortunately my aptitude as a healer is average, so I was told ¡°success is unlikely¡±. While I was feeling depressed after hearing that, Sir Alec caressed me for a whole night in comfort. And then I was given two possible choices. Choice 1, return to the village and study the role of a village chief from my father. Choice 2, remain at the academy to acquire the knowledge required of a swordsman or a scout before returning. Of course I chose the latter option. I¡¯m still only 10 years old. Mastering other skills before learning how to be a village chief should be no failing. If I learn swordsmanship, I can protect the village. If I learn scouting, I can make the village safe. The knowledge I learn here should be useful even when I return home. ~*~ And so it has been one month since the entrance exam, and it is the first day of classes. With my uniform and school materials in order, I once again passed through the academy¡¯s gate. I was met with a shrill voice upon entering the classroom. Must this voice be so painful for my ears? ¡°Ooohohohoho! Miss Marle, I believe. It would appear you are in the A class as well!¡± ¡°Ah, ummmm¡­¡± It¡¯s the person I met at the exams. She¡¯s the granddaughter of the Water Sage, and I think her name was¡­ ¡°A good day to you, Miss Curls Blanche.¡± ¡°Marielle! It¡¯s Marielle, got it?! My last name is the only part you had right!¡± ¡°Oh, right¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m bad at remembering names.¡± ¡°Bhukukukuku¡­ That ain¡¯t half bad, Milady. Why don¡¯t we change your name to that?¡± ¡°We will not!¡± Oh, that¡¯s Miss Alma, I believe. She¡¯s amazing with the orthodox swordsmanship she uses. ¡°Hello. Glad to see you doing well, Miss Alma.¡± ¡°Well aren¡¯t you polite. I¡¯m just here as Milday¡¯s bodyguard, so don¡¯t be worrying about getting too formal with me, ¡®kay?¡± As expected for one of the four great sages¡¯ granddaughter. It¡¯s almost like she¡¯s a noble, the way she has a bodyguard with her. ~*~ Classes began that very first day. We started with review, so the morning passed by as we went over history and arithmetic that appeared on the exam. For the afternoon we had martial arts and physical training on the schedule. ¡°Okay then, how about we have everyone pair up and do a little sparring.¡± ¡°¡®Kaaay!¡± Everyone began choosing the partner they wanted and started training. But I don¡¯t have a partner. It looks like everyone is keeping their distance from me, maybe because of how I fought in the exams? ¡°Ummm, Svalinn, would you like to¡ª¡° ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m going with Neel.¡± ¡°Then Colt, would you¡­¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m buddying with Mina.¡± They¡¯re all plainly avoiding me, aren¡¯t they? ¡°C-could this be¡­ Bullying?!¡± ¡°Naw, don¡¯t be ridiculous. You were just too darn overwhelming in the exams, so they¡¯re afraid of being yer opponent.¡± ¡°Ah, Miss Alma.¡± Wow. Miss Alma is tall, and she looks cool in her exercise clothes. I wonder if I¡¯ll grow that tall too? I would definitely feel a bit troubled if I stayed at Yuuri¡¯s height. ¡°I don¡¯t got a partner either; wanna join up with me?¡± ¡°But what about Marielle?¡± ¡°Milday is hopeless when it comes to athletics, so¡­ Bein¡¯ against me would be awful rough on her.¡± ¡°Do you want me to die?!¡± While she was fighting far away against another girl, with daggers, Marielle shouted over to us. She sure has some good hearing. ~*~ The next day we had magic classes. Because of what I learned from Yuuri, I understood how to mix magic power around, but it wasn¡¯t quite going as well as I hoped. ¡°Yo, your buddy used such stupid magic, and yet you seem utterly useless at it!¡± Upon noticing that I can¡¯t use magic, a boy came up to tease me. Ah, it¡¯s a boy I took out yesterday at sword practice. He¡¯s wearing some high-class tailored clothes, made of good fabric, so he¡¯s probably a noble. We¡¯re learning at this academy without regard to nobility and stuff, so I don¡¯t need to bow my head to him while I¡¯m here. ¡°Well I¡¯m not good at magic. And Yuuri is not stupid, okay?¡± ¡°Sure she¡¯s stupid. I¡¯ve never heard of someone failing because they used magic that was too powerful before!¡± ¡°She is not stupid!¡± Yuuri is an amazing girl. She invents new spells in no time, she¡¯s strong, and she knows all kinds of things! She fought bandits to save me, and even fought a dragon to cure me! It¡¯s thanks to her that I could even be here right now! ¡°Oh shut up, you¡¯re just a girl, and yet you¡¯re being so cheeky!¡± I was defying him, so the boy threw a tantrum and created a magic circle to attack me. He probably planned to hold back, but that¡¯s a very dangerous thing to do. It¡¯s a spell called [Fire Bolt]. It¡¯s the first fire attribute attack spell taught. ¡°O fire, gather and burn my enemy!¡± ¡°Hyah?!¡± I immediately crouched down and avoided the [Fire Bolt]. From there I leaped forward and wrestled the boy to the ground. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to use attack spells all of a sudden! I could have gotten hurt or worse if it hit, can¡¯t you see that?!¡± ¡°Let go of me! I don¡¯t give a damn what happens to a commoner child!¡± Looks like he really is a noble¡¯s child. He is completely doused in haughty beliefs. As I struggled with him to keep his mouth covered so he couldn¡¯t chant, I could see that someone had come up next to me. Said person kicked the noble child, proudly knocking him away. ¡°In that case, it would be no problem for me to have a noble brat pickled in ice either. An aristocrat or two would mean nothing to my grandmother.¡± It¡¯s Marielle. The way she¡¯s turning her chest away while looking at him in disdain is a bit scary¡­ By her side is Miss Alma. She has her usual smiling face, but¡­ It feels like there are shadows in her expression maybe? ¡°I do not particularly care what you think about it, but¡­ Firing off attack magic at this academy, at an ordinary student, is not acceptable behavior, is it? It would be a problem, you see?¡± ¡°A-as if that matters to me!¡± ¡°Based on your attitude, it seems you do not yet understand¡­¡± Along with her words, she gave off a heavy pressure which felt like it was bubbling up from deep within the earth. After the boy opened and closed his mouth speechlessly, he turned his nose away with a ¡°hmph¡± and left. The funny part was that his legs were shaking a bit. ¡°You sure do some reckless things, Marle. There are tricks you need when opposing magicians you know?¡± ¡°But he was making fun of Yuuri.¡± ¡°Oh, that girl¡­ What is she doing now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s exploring the labyrinth. I think she said she¡¯s gone to the 30th floor.¡± ¡°The 30th floor in a month?!¡± Ah, I guess that really is amazing, huh? It gets hard to tell what¡¯s considered amazing when Yuuri is around. ¡°Considering the magic she can use, I suppose it¡¯s a given. To think she turned that twig from the World Tree into sawdust¡­ Even I cannot do that. Just who is she?¡± ¡°Eh, ehehe¡­ I can¡¯t really say¡­¡± ¡°So, then, that really was incredible, Milady?¡± ¡°It may have been a twig, but it was still part of the World Tree, you see? Destroying that means it¡¯s possible for her to destroy the labyrinth itself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s freakin¡¯ ridiculous¡­¡± W-well¡­ It is Yuuri. ¡°But anyway, those were some nice moves. I guess you did some special training to fill the role of front-liner too?¡± ¡°Oh, what? No, that was just an imitation. I was mimicking Yuuri¡¯s moves.¡± ¡°She can fight close combat too¡­? It didn¡¯t really look like it though.¡± ¡°Ahaha, it¡¯s because she was holding back at the time.¡± It didn¡¯t look like she wanted to enroll in the first place. It sure was reassuring to have her along though. ¡°Then that means you aren¡¯t joining her party, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m just here to learn some useful skills for when I head back to the village.¡± ¡°In that case¡­ Would you like to join with me?¡± ¡°Join?¡± Join what, I wonder? Hands? ¡°Look, this academy has practical training in the labyrinth, right? I am searching for allies to delve into the first floor, and obtain the qualifications for that.¡± ¡°You have talent as a scout, and that¡¯s what you¡¯re studying too, right Marle? We¡¯re both pretty bad at that stuff, so we¡¯d be really glad to have you help us.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I already have my full license.¡± ¡°Eh?!¡± It was mentioned that anyone with a full license isn¡¯t allowed to help, if I remember right. I pulled out the license that I haven¡¯t used once since then, and showed it to the two of them. ¡°Yeah, look.¡± ¡°Uwah, it¡¯s true¡­ Wow.¡± ¡°Yuuri and the rest helped me though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still awesome¡­ Hm, ¡°the rest¡± means you have other companions?¡± ¡°Yeah, Ale-¡­ Bern, Al, and Miss Levy.¡± They¡¯re registered under aliases, so I have to stick with those, right? ¡°And with that Yuuri girl there¡¯s four? Probably best to give this one up, milady.¡± ¡°What are you saying? Once our registrations are taken care of, we can partner with whomever we choose, yes? The qualification portion may not be possible, but let¡¯s join together when it¡¯s time for practical training.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. Yeah, in that case, sure!¡± ¡°Alright, scout obtained!¡± Hmph, saying it that way makes it sound like she¡¯s only after my abilities, doesn¡¯t it? When I said as much, her face turned crimson and she flailed her arms around while denying it. She¡¯s cute, but in a different way than Yuuri. ~*~ After about 10 days passed, they had Hans, the noble boy from earlier, join them and obtained their full licenses. Even though they¡¯re only students, they finished in two weeks, which is incredible. Academy parties have up to four people from the same class, with one or two upperclassmen joining in to ensure their safety. Yuuri said something about, ¡°I guess they power level here too¡±. ¡°But is this really okay?¡± I glanced behind me. Miss Alma lightheartedly said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine,¡± waving her hand in dismissal, but¡­ Our four-person party has Marielle, Miss Alma, Hans, and myself in it. With the upperclassman Tony joining us, there are five of us. When I talked with everyone about this, they said, ¡°then you have room for one more!¡±¡­ ¡°What? Do you not like having me here with you, Marle?¡± And there was Mister Haster, walking with a big grin on his face. Of all things, the one here was the greatest, most powerful fighter from Yuuri¡¯s party. ¡°No, I was just wondering why you were here¡­¡± ¡°Not like it¡¯s a violation of the school¡¯s rules. Well, just think of it as a classroom visit.¡± Sure, ¡°No grouping together with those outside the school¡± wasn¡¯t a rule, but¡­ ¡°I mean, the upperclassman is here supervising anyway, so there¡¯s no problem with me joining in, is there?¡± ¡°Well no, but¡­¡± ¡°That is all well and good, but you are strong enough, yes? We are actually quite skilled, you see?¡± ¡°Not a problem. I may not look it, but I¡¯ve been to the 30th floor.¡± While saying so, he gave Cleaver a swing. One-handed. The sound as it sliced through the air wasn¡¯t ¡°fwoom,¡± but more like ¡°VROOM,¡± and it felt like the air pressure alone would cause damage. But is it really okay to show that thing to other people? ¡°R-really now? In that case, very well¡­¡± Marielle put on a strong front with her reply, but I noticed that she was sweating. Just the existence of the nearly 1-meter-long mass of iron with a warhammer head, known as Cleaver, was intimidating on its own. Swinging it around one-handed is at a level that can only bring terror. ¡°With you being able to swing that thing one handed, you¡¯ll definitely add to our battle power, but¡­ Why are ya so far back?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a classroom visit? Ah, that¡¯s just a joke. I can actually use magic too, so I¡¯m most helpful here. Plus I can see all your movements better back here. We¡¯re letting you take care of our kid there, so I¡¯ll be watching you all very carefully, you hear?¡± ¡°Auuuuu¡­¡± I was extremely uncomfortable for that whole day. What if Sir Alec came to watch us next? Please, give me a break. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: Something with a bit of ¡°extra chapter¡± flavor to it. Chapter 91: Preparing For Battle Chapter 91: Preparing For Battle Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations About 2 months have passed since we came to this city. We broke through the thirties floors and only have one more floor left in the fourties. The Intra-Labyrinth Adventurer Transport Golems, commonly called ¡°The Train,¡± which was (supposedly) developed by the guild, played a huge part behind our rapid conquests. These golems, which can run a 10 floor round-trip in a day, were created by a newly hired magician who was proficient in earth magic. Furthermore, the ¡°limited express¡± golems, which run through 50 floors at once, and the ¡°express¡± golems, which make runs through 10 floors at a time made their appearances too. Thanks to them, the front lines just got a whole lot closer. And although they¡¯re cheap, they still take a fee, so they might even be laughing it up over in the guild¡¯s finance department. ¡°With that being the case, we¡¯d like this one to be on you, Miss Remy.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that why I¡¯m here helping you with the cooking, as thanks, in the first place?¡± I knead the wheat, strike it, stretch it out, ball it up, knead it again¡­ At my side is Miss Remy, wrapping the kneaded wheat in a cloth and stepping on it. Tonight¡¯s dinner is udon. My body is too light to do the stomping part well. ¡°But is it really okay to be stepping on this if we¡¯re gonna eat it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s part of how this is cooked. It has to be stepped on, or it won¡¯t stretch out as much as it¡¯s supposed to.¡± We¡¯re planning on fighting our way up to the 50th floor tomorrow. So in anticipatory celebration, I¡¯m tackling a dish I haven¡¯t had in a while. I jumped over to Cornus for some fish to be dried and smoked for some simple bonito(ish) flakes, and used the kelp-like creeping vines to make dashi. Then in place of citron I used the skin of a citrus fruit, and some soy sauce-ish stuff to make the soup base. Unfortunately there was no fried tofu to be had, but I used a bunch of mushrooms and wild vegetables in its place. Well then, this is the house we just moved in to, but¡­ The house is actually in more critical condition than I imagined. Though I figured the root was just going over the roof, there were also little cilia spreading inside the rooms. And even though they¡¯re cilia, they¡¯re from the World Tree. They¡¯re 5 centimeters thick. Normally this probably wouldn¡¯t be a good place to live. I hastily applied [Toughness] to the walls and the pillars, and prevented the structure¡¯s collapse. And then there¡¯s the World Tree¡¯s root¡­ There was actually a way to put it to good use. Since it¡¯s a root, there¡¯s water running through it, and actually at quite a pace too¡­ So I turned my attention to that. Once I put a cut into the root, and put a tap in it¡­ Suddenly we had a water supply. Now there¡¯s no need to draw water every day, and there¡¯s no water bill either! ¡°Well, I did always use magic to draw the water anyway, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°What? Nothing.¡± ¡°But really, this water supply? It sure is convenient. I want one in my room too.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re fine with Miss Levy¡¯s room, then have at it.¡± The room itself is more than we need anyway. Though we did make the basement off-limits. After closing off the spigot, the fire was lit, and the chopped noodles were set to boiling. Miss Remy and I mixed up way more than 2 kilograms of noodles altogether. Haster and Alec¡­ And Miss Levy is actually a pretty big eater too. And then one more person¡­ ¡°Heeey, is the food ready yeeet?¡± ¡°Hold your horses, it¡¯ll be ready in just a minute, Bahamut.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ Hey, that¡¯s¡­ Really?¡± ¡°Keep it a secret?¡± Should we have made 3 kilograms perhaps? That thing pretty much eats as much as we put out there. ¡°Maybe we should have had Miss Levy help us out too?¡± ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t have her do the cooking. I¡¯m pretty sure she has a ¡°Poison Creation¡± gift.¡± ¡°I said I don¡¯t got anythin¡¯ like that! Ya¡¯ll coulda at least let me help with the stomping¡­¡± ¡°With your legs, you probably would have splattered it everywhere.¡± Is she really that senseless? Yes, she is, isn¡¯t she. Well, if it¡¯s not enough we can just cook up some pasta from the store. That has at least spread throughout this world. ~*~ ¡°Fwoh, fwiff am hwewwy fwaffy¡­¡± ¡°Ha¡­ Al, try speaking after you¡¯re done chewing.¡± Miss Remy is here, so we¡¯re in alias mode. But then again, Bahamut is here too, so is there any real purpose in using them at this point¡­? ¡°Gulp, mm, cough. Sorry, if I don¡¯t hurry and eat, then my share is going to disappear at this rate.¡± ¡°And while Al is talking, the rest is mine!¡± ¡°Not so fast!¡± I give Haster and Bahamut a side-eye at their pointlessly high-level display of sword (knife) skills, while I let out a sigh. I¡¯m ever so slightly jealous of Marle, who¡¯s letting Alec feed her next to me. The meeting about tomorrow isn¡¯t going to happen until after dinner, is it? ~*~ ¡°So, once again, about tomorrow¡­¡± While enjoying our after dinner tea, we talk about the bosses up to the 50th floor. We¡¯re defeating the bosses every five floors, so Miss Levy will only be able to participate part-way through tomorrow. If we use the limited express, then we could just jump right on through, but we decided we may as well kill them all off while we¡¯re at it. ¡°I think we¡¯ll need to start thinking about our equipment now.¡± ¡°Our equipment? I am pretty sure we all have pretty much the strongest weapons we could get, right?¡± Haster has Cleaver, Alec has Sentinel, and I have Third Eye. After their production, I¡¯ve been making some slight adjustments too, so they should practically hold mythical-class abilities at this point. ¡°Not the weapons; our armor. Alec and I are fine, but all you¡¯ve got right now is cloth, Yuuri.¡± ¡°Ooh, now that I think about it? But attacks hardly even come my way most of the time.¡± And I¡¯ll be fine even if they do. Since I¡¯ll just come back if I die. ¡°You have ¡°I¡¯ll just come back if I die¡± written on your face, but do you realize that if you die, then the degree of danger suddenly jumps up?¡± ¡°Do you have any awareness of what it means to be the rear guard, sis?¡± ¡°Urk?!¡± When Haster is stuck on the front line, I¡¯m left being the only rear guard. If magic support is required, then my death leading to the collapse of the whole party is, well, not a complete exaggeration, so¡­ ¡°But doesn¡¯t my lack of strength actually makes heavy armor more dangerous though?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the real issue¡­¡± Forget how restricted I would feel in metal armor, even tanned leather armor makes it feel like I¡¯m over my weight limit. Haster is typically the one carrying all my baggage for me. Third Eye, a short bow, 10 iron arrows, and 12 normal arrows. Just all that is practically my limit. ¡°I thought about this on the 45th floor, but it feels like it¡¯s about time for the enemies to come up with ways to attack long distance. I really want to find some way for your safety to be guaranteed Yuuri.¡± ¡°But when taking my strength into consideration, not putting any extra armor on is like, better, or¡­¡± ¡°What about something like that mantle you made for Bella before?¡± ¡°I guess I could manage with something like that.¡± Hearing that, he starts rummaging around in a luggage bag. ¡°We¡¯ve delved into the labyrinth a good number of times, so a reasonable number of items have piled up¡­ Ah, there it is.¡± He pulled an old fashioned mantle out. Leaves are stuck to it here and there¡­ No, I think they¡¯re growing on the mantle? ¡°It would appear this is a rather unique item made from ivy in the World Tree.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡­¡± ¡°Marle, you know what this thing is?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s an item that appeared during the classroom visit the other day. It doesn¡¯t have much defensive power, so everyone said they didn¡¯t need it.¡± Hm? Let¡¯s take a quick ¡°Appraisal¡± of it. ¡ªWater Vine Mantle Special Ability: Flame Resistance Enchant Slots: 3 remaining A mantle created from vines filled with moisture. Has a strong resistance to flames, but its defensive power is normal. ¡°This thing¡¯s performance is just plain broken, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Really? It¡¯s not like it has any defensive power, and it¡¯s not strong enough to negate flames. I think it¡¯s pretty average, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°¡­? Haster, how do you see this mantle? Or rather, can you see it?¡± To me, ¡°Enchant slots: 3 remaining¡± means it has got some amazing potential to it. If I put [Strength] and [Reinforcement] on here, wouldn¡¯t it gain the defensive power of normal metallic armor? ¡°Hm, ummmm¡­ A water vine mantle. Defensive powers of a normal mantle, and some flame resistance.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t see the remaining enchant slots?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never tried seeing that kind of thing?¡± Which means this bit of data is thanks to ¡°Appraisal¡±. Should an item this good really be appearing in the lower floors? ¡°Sure, why not? Adventurers who can place persistent enchantments don¡¯t normally exist. The reason you see it as a ¡°good item¡± is because you were the first to establish such a craft.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do it, Bahamut?¡± ¡°I never have. Actually, I¡¯ve never had a need to. At the very least, there was no such technique back when I was human.¡± I guess it really wouldn¡¯t be that good of an item without my ability to add enchantments. But does this mean more of these, in a sense, unfinished items are just lying around somewhere? ¡°There are three enchant slots open on this thing. After reinforcing it, having Marle wear it would be better than giving it to me.¡± ¡°¡­ Eh?¡± ¡°Marle has been delving into the labyrinth for practical training lately. She needs heavier equipment more than me right now, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°B-but¡­¡± ¡°Haster, what do you think?¡± I looked at him with slightly upturned eyes, added in some cajolery, and tried ¡°asking¡± him. ¡°Urk, no, but¡­ That doesn¡¯t change anything with your safety, so¡­¡± ¡°I already wear my extra magic capacity mantle anyway. How am I going to wear two of them?¡± Though I hardly use it unless I¡¯m firing Third Eye off at full power. That mantle doesn¡¯t have any defensive type [Enchant] cast on it, and my defensive strength is certainly a point of concern, but¡­ Her safety comes way before mine in ranking. For me, Haster¡¯s safety takes top priority. Next come Alec and Marle. Unfortunately for Miss Levy, she comes after them, and I guess I¡¯m last in the list? To be honest, Haster¡¯s priority rank would probably be fine lower on the list, since he can come back to life, but this is one of those ¡°those are two different things¡± moments. ¡°Well fine, then this buckler¡­¡± ¡°You want me to equip a shield when I use a bow?¡± A bow uses both hands, so I can¡¯t equip a standard shield. ¡°Then at least take these shoes¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really like having my feet weighed down though¡­¡± What he took out were more like greaves than shoes. They were sorta red and kinda like a bug¡¯s carapace? When I tried them on, they were surprisingly light. ¡°What are these?¡± ¡°They¡¯re greaves made from the shell of a Wood Crab. Wood crabs are¡­ Almost like coconut crabs, I guess?¡± ¡°Huh¡­¡± Just in case, I checked their abilities with ¡°Appraisal¡±. They weren¡¯t magically enchanted, and they didn¡¯t have enchant slots either, but they were light, and solid enough to be similar to metallic armor. ¡°If it¡¯s something like this¡­ Yeah, this isn¡¯t bad.¡± With the greaves equipped, I lightly lifted my skirt and twirled around a bit to check how well I could move in them. ¡°Yeah, not bad at all.¡± Haster nodded emphatically. I had a bad premonition, so I removed the hands lifting my skirt up. When I glared at him, he averted his gaze. Can never be too careful around him. Anyway, our preparations are complete now. Tomorrow we¡¯ll be joining the sunny companionship of middle rankers! Chapter 92: Annihilation Chapter 92: Annihilation Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: Things will now take a slightly heavier turn. Any readers bad with gore and depressing things, please proceed with caution. --------------------------------------------------------------- The next day, we headed into the labyrinth to take down the 50th floor guardian. Like before, we won¡¯t be able to fight him with Miss Levy here, so she¡¯s standing by outside the room. ¡°So what are we taking on for the 50th floor?¡± ¡°Think it were¡­ Some kinda spider monster. Was called a Bomb Spider.¡± ¡°Really, a bug¡­?¡± I¡¯m not so good with bug type enemies. It was the same with the giant roaches on the 1st floor. I have no resistance to them, due to some of my disposition as a modern Japanese person remaining. In my life in Japan, I had never even seen a spider the size of my palm; would I really be able to stay calm when seeing a spider more than two meters large? The answer is no. Even when I was faced with the huge spider, which is simply large, my body froze up, and I couldn¡¯t fight properly. ¡°Bomb spiders ain¡¯t the type to build spider webs. Instead they spit out a sticky liquid to capture their prey. It¡¯s a type a long-range attack.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not good with spiders; they just keep moving no matter how much you break them apart.¡± ¡°Just so as we¡¯re clear, gettin¡¯ hit by that liquid mean ya¡¯ll won¡¯t be able to move, aright? Won¡¯t be able to move again unless it gets washed off with alcohol. Ya¡¯ll would basically be out of the fight.¡± ¡°Battle over in just one hit, huh¡­¡± ¡°Could still shoot magic though. So I¡¯d heard tell of people who still barely managed to survive that way. Plus it ain¡¯t able to shoot it rapidly.¡± Probably because it¡¯s basically saliva I guess? I¡¯m sure it takes some time to build it up. Which means a short and decisive battle would be best. ¡°Sure would. It should have some huge spiders with it too. Need plenty a destructive power and fightin¡¯ ability to get past this here floor.¡± ¡°Well we shouldn¡¯t have any trouble on that point at least.¡± ¡°Huge spiders are poisonous. How¡¯s our stock of antidotes?¡± ¡°All set, we still have 12 kefa fruits.¡± I dug through our item bag and confirmed what we had. Monster poisons are split into immediate effect and delayed effect types. Huge spider poison is the delayed type, so about when the combat ends is when some shakes and chills set in. Kefa fruits have a detoxifying effect, and should be more than effective enough. ¡°Great, then all we need is alcohol to wash the liquid off¡­ Would alcohol used for treatment work?¡± ¡°Sure would.¡± ¡°Then we have enough for one person.¡± When someone faints or gets put to sleep as an abnormal status condition, a strong alcoholic beverage is an effective way to treat it. That being the case, he always carries around a distilled liquor. ¡­ And then he immediately gulps it down once we get back. ¡°Well then, we¡¯re off.¡± ¡°Ya¡¯ll be careful~¡± ¡°You too.¡± This high up, there are enemies who can ignore her ¡°Recognition Blocking¡± and find her by smell alone. There are insect type monsters with weak vision here too, so ¡°Recognition Blocking¡± doesn¡¯t work very well against them either. Even so, with her abilities she can still easily handle the enemies around here, so I¡¯m not particularly worried. ~*~ Beyond the door was, as usual, a wide space around 20 meters. Being a spider¡¯s room, there was a massive spider web stretched across the ceiling area. On that huge spider web were the two meters large huge spiders¡­ At a glance there were 5 or 6 of them¡­ From the back of the room came a grating sound of insect footsteps, as a spider which was kind of small compared to the huge spiders came crawling out. That must be the bomb spider. ¡°Wh-what¡¯s with that¡­? Its carapace looks kind of metallic.¡± Maybe the solidness of its shell evolved in some way? It almost seems like a spider wearing armor. It looks hard. I suddenly felt something rustle on the back of my neck as something creepily moved across it. ¡°¡ªPii?!¡± After letting out a weird shriek, I brought my hand to my neck and found a baby spider stuck to it. In a panic, I knocked it onto the ground and smashed it. Gashashasha¡­! Was the the sound they make when they¡¯re angry? Or maybe it¡¯s just an ordinary threatening noise. I¡¯m not really sure which, but either way the bomb spider reacted to my actions by rushing towards us. Let the battle for floor 50 begin. ~*~ And then it was evening. After defeating the bomb spider we headed up another floor, then caught the limited express golem to head back down. The transport golems currently had stations every 10 floors, so the 51st floor is a floor where you can get whichever type you need. We collected the bomb spider¡¯s carapace to present to the guild as proof of our accomplishment. Once we turn this in, we will publicly join the ranks of the mid-floor dungeon-goers. Getting to the middle floors in 2 months is pretty much the fastest it¡¯s been done apparently. Well, the transport golems played a part in that though. ¡°But you know sis, that scream of yours¡­¡± ¡°You be quiet, Alec. I was just surprised.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have made it, you know, just a little more of a womanly scream?¡± ¡°My little ol¡¯ preference would be anyYuuri-ish scream, ya know?¡± ¡°I really want to hear what you think that would sound like, Miss Levy.¡± We emphasized quick extermination. Once it came to it, our quickness in crushing them was unmatched against any other type of foe. When the bomb spider came to attack, it fired off its liquid at us once it was in range, but Alec blocked that with the broad side of Sentinel. Following through, Haster let out a battle cry, let off an attack with Cleaver, and demolished its upper half. The huge spiders that came dropping down from the ceiling were smashed to pieces from a side swing of Sentinel. The ones remaining on the web were fried by my magic, and it was over. Battle time was roughly 20 seconds. It was a complete victory. ¡°If you thought that was funny, I¡¯d say your face when the door opened was the real riot, Miss Levy.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t no helpin¡¯ that. Hadn¡¯t even been a minute since the door closed, and suddenly it opened again, yeah? That there¡¯s jaw-droppin¡¯.¡± While lingering on our victory, and making my panic the butt of a joke, we arrived at the door of the guild. ¡°Hm? Is the guild noisier than usual today?¡± The first thing we noticed was the mood in the room. A number of staff members were going this way and that, while hurried people in unfamiliar uniforms¡­ Are those academy faculty members? ¡°Academy teachers? Why are they¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, the atmosphere here is strange.¡± Well we have a report to make anyway, so first we need to find Miss Remy¡­ Ah, there she is. ¡°Miss Remy, what¡¯s got everyone in such a rush?¡± ¡°Ah, Yuuri, this is terrible!¡± ¡°Calm down, what happened?¡± She took a breath¡­ But with her serious expression still remaining, she informed us. ¡°We¡¯ve been told that Marle¡¯s party¡­ Was annihilated¡­¡± ¡°¡ªWha?!¡± That¡¯s a lie, right?! Academy students are only allowed to explore the 5th floor and lower. They¡¯ve even got guards posted at the entrance to the 6th floor to enforce that. Her party is powerful enough that any enemies that low shouldn¡¯t pose any problems for them. And that¡¯s not just Marle. That goes for Marielle too, and that swordsman named Alma was pretty strong too. On top of that, she has the [Enchanted] equipment I gave her. An enemy at a kobold¡¯s level shouldn¡¯t even be able to get their blades past that¡­ ¡°Why?! That party may not have been middle rank, but they¡¯re strong enough they should have been able to easily explore the lowest floors!¡± ¡°Yes, I thought the same when I saw the report. But it would seem they fought¡­ Another adventurer.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s¡­ Why¡­¡± Marle has a gentle personality, and the party has a strong trust with her. The leader on the surface was a noble named Hans, who is commanding, but the others trusted him enough that they wouldn¡¯t ignore what he said. Marielle has a high-handed tone too, which is easy to misunderstand, but she¡¯s not the type to invite resentment. Miss Alma and their supervisor Mister Tony also aren¡¯t very warlike, and actually have very calm natures. ¡°Shit! Who was it?!¡± ¡°A new group who just registered recently. The leader¡¯s name is¡­ Masayoshi Kaneda? What a strange name.¡± ¡°¡ªKh?!¡± I don¡¯t have any recollection of the name. But that name¡­ Its pronunciation clearly doesn¡¯t come from this world¡­ ¡°A reincarnator¡­?¡± Which means it wouldn¡¯t be strange for him to have powerful gifts like me. ¡ªThe kind of magic that I was throwing around just a little while ago. That kind of power was directed at her¡­? I imagined what that would look like, and started trembling. ¡°What about¡­ Her¡­ Marle¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. We got the report from adventurers who found them deep in the labyrinth, half-destroyed. The information we received only says there are two survivors. Three died in battle.¡± Three of them¡­ 60 percent of them died¡­ Was Marle among them? I felt my vision getting dark. ¡°Shit!¡± ¡°Alec?!¡± He must not have been able to stand around and do nothing. Just as Alec was about to run off towards the labyrinth¡­ ¡°Move! It¡¯s an emergency! Clear a path!¡± Five people were being carried in on stretchers by the guild staff. Three among them were in body bags. Marle¡­ Was¡­ ¡°Two more coming through! One heavily injured, one with magic exhaustion.¡± Two more people were carried in. On the stretchers were Marle and Marielle. They were limp, and didn¡¯t appear conscious, but¡­ I could see traces of blood at the corners of Marle¡¯s mouth. However, her chest was moving¡­ She was alive. ¡°Marle!¡± ¡°A-aah¡­¡± Alec shouted and followed after her, while I felt weak from relief and dropped to my knees on the spot. By the looks of it, she managed to stay alive. ~*~ Marle took heavy damage to her lungs. Marielle must have desperately healed it. As a result, she fainted from depletion of her magic power. They had the catastrophe of everyone losing consciousness inside the labyrinth. The girls haven¡¯t woken up yet. I wanted to see Miss Alma¡¯s corpse, but they said, ¡°It¡¯s not something a child should see,¡± and refused to let me. At the very least I asked them to tell me what state they were in, and¡­ Miss Alma¡¯s head was pulverized, suffering an instant death. Hans¡¯ body was torn in three parts. Mister Tony¡¯s body had the blood sucked from it, and he was mummified. They were all in the most appalling conditions. Just what kind of people, and how, ¡°could they kill them that way,¡± the staff were all saying. Next I inspected the equipment of Marle and the rest. Miss Alma¡¯s long sword was in pieces. It wasn¡¯t enchanted like our stuff, but I could tell it was still a really high-class product. And it was crushed. Not just broken or bent, but even the pieces were in pieces. She was probably using it to protect her head. Even then it wasn¡¯t enough¡­ Next was Marle¡¯s water vine mantle. Yesterday I [Enchanted] it and gave it to her. It must have taken a tremendous beating too. It was twisted, cut all over, and looked like a completely worn-out cloth. Her body wasn¡¯t crushed like with Miss Alma. Perhaps it¡¯s thanks to this thing giving all it had? However, this mantle, enchanted with [Strength] and [Flame Resistance]¡­ Hans¡¯ leather armor was of fine quality, but it was a normal item. Though I say normal, tearing it and his body into pieces is unbelievable. The tanned, reinforced leather was torn like paper. And that goes for his staff too. His staff for powering up his magic was made of iron. Mister Tony¡¯s equipment¡­ It was probably the stuff in the best condition. Though his corpse was in the most sad state. His equipment didn¡¯t have a single scratch on it. Apparently the only injury was two holes opened on his neck. Like what a vampire would make. As I was trying to glean information about the enemy from the state of the bodies and the condition of the equipment¡­ Before I knew it, the night was over. And then I got word that Marle had woken up. Chapter 93: Menace Chapter 93: Menace Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Marle and Marielle were laying down side-by-side on beds in the aid room. Seeing Alec, Marle got up on shaky legs and ran over to him, crying profusely. ¡°Ale-¡­ hic, uwaa¡­. Uwaaaaaah!¡± ¡°Marle, I¡¯m so glad¡­ You¡¯re okay.¡± It was a moving reunion, but Marielle¡¯s expression was more on my mind. ¡­ It was a very brooding expression. ¡°Miss¡­ Marielle, right? Umm, don¡¯t torment yourself over¡­¡± ¡°Impossible.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s¡ª¡° ¡°After Alma was killed, and right in front of me too? I¡¯ll never forgive¡­ Those bastards.¡± A low, murderous voice escaped the mouth of the still-young girl. Neither that voice, nor those words, are things that should be coming from the mouth of a girl her age. But what could I possibly say to her? If Haster or Marle met the same fate, then I would have the same look in my eyes, and use the same voice to express my murderous intent. ¡°May I ask what happened?¡± Haster asked her. Marle¡¯s in no state to talk right now. Although her heart is set on revenge right now, she¡¯s still able to talk as she is. ¡°That day we¡­ We were exploring the 5th floor like usual. We¡¯re forbidden from challenging the floor guardian, so that was as deep as we could go. Our abilities had raised, and we didn¡¯t quite feel the 5th floor was satisfying enough.¡± At their strength, the 5th floor certainly wouldn¡¯t be enough for them. Marielle¡¯s magic especially is more than enough for the starter levels. ¡°Hans was getting carried away with how easy it was. Nay, perhaps we all were. He suggested we challenge the floor guardian.¡± I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t understand his feelings. Young boys tend to dream of being heroes¡­ Especially when the power to make it happen is within their reach. ¡°Marle and our upperclassman Tony were against it. But Alma and myself¡­ We believed we could win, so we did not make any particular argument against it. That overconfidence was a problem. If we had expressed opposition as well, then the quarrel would have been over and we never even would have met them.¡± Them¡­ The one calling himself ¡°Masayoshi¡± is most likely a reincarnator like me. ¡°They came up to us and said, ¡°If you¡¯re quarreling, then let us go in ahead of you¡±.¡± ¡°Well that would figure. Do you remember what they looked like?¡± ¡°The leader had a strange appearance, with neither armor nor weapon. Almost like he was out for a walk¡­ And then there were 5 others. 2 were light weight fighters wearing leather armor. At least I think; I didn¡¯t see any weapons on them either. 2 of them seemed like magicians, hidden deep in robes. I couldn¡¯t tell much more about them. The last one was a woman wearing a very revealing outfit. That bitch was clearly not human.¡± ¡°Was there some difference with her that stood out?¡± ¡°No, but that bitch is the one who sucked Tony¡¯s life blood out of him.¡± ¡°A vampiric type then¡­¡± Inhuman monsters were obeying him? Ahh, I get it¡­ So, in other words, those assholes are¡­ ¡ªThey¡¯re the Demon Lord, and his group? ¡°They didn¡¯t wait for an answer, pretending we weren¡¯t there¡­ Well, that was because Hans was ignoring them. So they moved to enter the floor guardian¡¯s room. That must have hit a nerve with Hans; he fired off his usual [Fire Bolt] spell at the leader. Of course he cut back its power, but¡­ It was immediately following that. Their attitude took a direct turnaround. ¡°First they tore Hans to pieces. It was immediately after he let off his spell; he hadn¡¯t even gotten out of his stance yet. One of the light fighters had appeared right in front of Hans before we even knew it. He grew long claws from his arms, and swung them through Hans. ¡°Alma reacted. She drew her sword to meet the enemy¡­ And in that instant, Tony had been ¡®eaten¡¯. It was as if the woman sunk into the shadows as she moved, got behind him, and bit into his neck¡­ He couldn¡¯t run, and didn¡¯t even seem to try¡­.¡± He couldn¡¯t run? Was that a charm power? I have heard vampiric species normally have that. ¡°And then lastly the leader¡­ Punched¡­ Alma¡¯s head¡­ Urp?!¡± ¡°A-are you okay? You don¡¯t need to continue if it¡¯s too hard, okay?¡± ¡°I¡­ I am fine¡­ At the last moment, Alma told us ¡°run¡±¡­ But¡ª!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡­ At the time I was so scared, and I was shaking¡­ I could hardly even move; I couldn¡¯t run.¡± Marle fought against her tears to add on where Marielle cut off. It¡¯s hard to blame a girl like her for freezing when she suddenly gets caught up in a tragedy like that. ¡°The leader grabbed my throat and said, ¡°Are you the kind of bandits who hang out in the labyrinth? You¡¯ve got a poor upbringing to be suddenly attacking people like that.¡±¡­¡± ¡°That guy told us, ¡°If you become my slaves, then I don¡¯t mind letting you off the hook.¡± I had no idea what was happening¡­¡± ¡°I at least understood the ¡°slave¡± part. Even though he killed Alma¡­ Telling me to become his slave¡­ That came to my mind, and I spit at his face. And then the man ran his mouth with something I didn¡¯t understand, ¡°So this is a tsundere?,¡± before he made to kick me away. That¡¯s when Marle pushed me out of the way, protecting me¡­¡± That¡¯s the reaction you should expect when you just killed her best friend. But seriously, this Demon Lord Masayoshi¡­ He talks lightheartedly, and his attitude is the worst. Even I can¡¯t excuse that. ¡°I had completely lost myself at the time, and I had no idea what was happening. So I think I only barely managed to move right then.¡± ¡°You saved my life. But don¡¯t do something so dangerous again. Do you even know what happened to your own body? The right side of your chest was perforated, and just about everything from your lungs to your ribs were damaged. You couldn¡¯t breathe on your own, and you would have died in less than five minutes if you were left alone.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s surprising that I¡¯m alive. Thank you, Marielle.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too soon to be thanking me¡­ That is¡­ My apologies, but I couldn¡¯t completely heal your injuries. I¡¯m sorry.¡± We only checked later, but the right side of Marle¡¯s chest and back still had large scars on them. She took a blow powerful enough to pierce through a human body, so there probably wasn¡¯t much to be done about that. Actually, she regenerated damaged or missing organs and skin, so we should really be talking about how amazing her abilities are. As Marielle was bowing her head deeply, Marle stopped her with a hug. ¡°It¡¯s okay, being alive is more than enough. I¡¯m very grateful to you Marielle. But umm, I feel like I should be apologizing to Sir Alec.¡± ¡°No! I don¡¯t mind a scar like that one bit¡­!¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Besides, I¡¯m missing an a whole arm.¡± ¡°Aha, we¡¯re just covered in wounds¡­ Aren¡¯t we, Sir Alec?¡± And then she looked like she was about to cry¡­ ¡°What?¡± ¡°Could we¡­ Go back to the village? We shouldn¡¯t be fighting something like that¡­¡± ¡°Eh? But¡­¡± ¡°When Marielle was captured, she tried resisting, you know? With fire and ice magic. But none of it worked at all. He didn¡¯t take a single scratch. That¡¯s just not normal.¡± Magic didn¡¯t work? I wonder if he has some kind of magic canceling gift or something? No, that would just be powerful on a whole different scale¡­ But when considering my own gifts, that kind of thing seems very possible. ¡°Sorry, could we hear more about that?¡± ¡°What I used was [Fire Bolt], [Ice Sword], [Wind Blade], and [Light Arrow]. I am confident that any one of those would have dealt a fatal blow to a troll, too.¡± ¡°And none of those were effective at all?¡± ¡°No, I suppose not? Rather than ineffective, it felt more like they weren¡¯t even connecting though.¡± Are his resistance values just unusually high¡­? But even then, not leaving a scratch is abnormal. ¡°He¡¯s a monster. It¡¯s not even fair¡­ E-even Miss Alma¡­ No, I don¡¯t want any more of this!¡± ¡°Marle!¡± Alec held Marle with his one arm. She must have had a flashback to that tragic scene. She was shaking like¡­ Actually, her expression is half-hearted. It¡¯s more like her body is in the convulsions of a seizure. ¡°After seeing that with your own eyes, I suppose you wouldn¡¯t want any further part of this¡­ But I am not giving up.¡± ¡°Planning on revenge?¡± ¡°Yes, which is exactly why¡­ I ask you to please let me join your party. I may not look like much, but I am highly specialized in healing magic.¡± The Water Sage¡¯s apprentice. If we could have her along as a companion, there could be no better option for us. However, her goal is revenge. That is subtly different from our own. Would it really be okay to welcome her with that in mind¡­? ¡°Our goal isn¡¯t revenge. So if that is your only goal, then I don¡¯t want you as part of our group.¡± ¡°Oh? I had been hearing recently that you are the most skilled adventurers around here, so I was hoping, but¡­ Very well. There are other parties.¡± ¡°Just wanna say, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s going to be a next time. If you meet them again, they¡¯re almost definitely going to kill you.¡± ¡°I hope they try. I will beat them to the punch.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s impo¡ª¡° ¡°Haster¡­¡± I pull at his arm and shake my head, conveying how I think it¡¯s pointless. As she is right now, no words are going to get through to her. We can discuss things with her once she¡¯s calmed down a little more. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this another day. You two should rest up for now.¡± ¡°Indeed, I am feeling a bit tired.¡± ¡°Alec, stay with her.¡± ¡°I will.¡± We left Alec behind, and headed back to the break room. ~*~ People of various social statuses had gathered in the guild¡¯s break room. Hans having been a noble must be causing problems. There are clearly people who are not commoners mixed in. There were some having arguments too. They were the very picture of a noisy uproar. Their assertions all showed differences of opinion, as if there was no cohesiveness at all. ¡°I supposed this is just going to happen¡­¡± After all, this all starts with Hans launching a preemptive attack. Even if there was no intent to kill behind it, the headline here would say the Demon Lord¡¯s side acted in self-defense. Which I suppose would suggest Marle¡¯s side should be punished, and they should be found guiltless. But they clearly went too far. Plus they were killing minors. Moreover, they were teacher and student of nobility, and a sage¡¯s apprentice. Punish a sage¡¯s apprentice? Punish the Demon Lord? Is it even possible to punish them? Even if they could be, would it end with a punishment? There would be no particular problem with Marle. If there¡¯s a fine, then we can pay it in her stead, and if it¡¯s hard labor, we can pay her bail. It probably wouldn¡¯t be a small fee, but if we let her retire to Mareba like she was saying, then I¡¯m sure the guild would let it go to keep from escalating things. If we have to, then Haster and I could step forward too. Marielle is the same. Her own desires aside, she shouldn¡¯t be allowed into the labyrinth right now. With how wrapped up she is in her ruinous desire for revenge, a party may even step forward that will become collateral damage for her. If her grandmother and current sage Ondine appears, things could get problematic, but¡­ I¡¯ll have Haster give it his best in that case. Punish the Demon Lord? That¡¯s an ¡°are you an idiot?¡± kind of thing. What would be the punishment? They¡¯re going to be delving into the labyrinth even if you leave them alone. Attempting to block his invasion with the army personnel stationed at the entrance is just nonsense. And that kind of thing probably wouldn¡¯t be enough to stop him anyway. ¡°In the end, they can¡¯t really punish anyone. Not in this case.¡± ¡°Probably not. More importantly, Levy.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°That conversation told me they¡¯re an unbelievable bunch¡­ And we¡¯re supposed to outrun them?¡± ¡°Sure are. Don¡¯t think anyone ¡®sides ya¡¯ll could do it.¡± The one who grew claws from his arms is probably a beast man species. Plus there¡¯s the vampiric one. And we have no idea what the other three are. We also don¡¯t know what the Demon Lord himself has for gifts. ¡°This is pretty hopeless, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Could be¡­ Which is exactly why we need ya¡¯ll. Even includin¡¯ everyone in this city, ya¡¯ll have the best chance at it.¡± ¡°Even after all this¡­ You¡¯re telling us to aim for the top?¡± ¡°I do feel bad an¡¯ all. But I got my own reasons too. Cut me some slack.¡± ¡°Seriously, God really goes overboard sometimes.¡± ¡°Heh? God?¡± ¡°Just talking to myself.¡± If all else fails, we run. Do we have that choice? With no way to find clear motivation to climb to the top, our morale took a heavy blow. Chapter 94: Life And Death Struggle Chapter 94: Life And Death Struggle Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The next day, Marle and Marielle ended up being transferred to our ¡°home¡±. It was determined that keeping them in the care of the guild would be dangerous. The reason being Hans¡¯ father. Being nobility, he firmly insisted that Demon Lord Masayoshi be killed in return for murdering his heir. But even he himself must have realized that wasn¡¯t a possibility. Being the one who subjugated the entire barbaric region, it was questionable if he could be taken down even if the entirety of Novelius¡¯ army moved to do so. As such, Hans¡¯ father changed the target of his anger. To the companions who couldn¡¯t protect his son. The ones who brazenly survived when his son didn¡¯t. The commoners who didn¡¯t protect the nobility. I¡¯m well aware that this is the anger of a parent whose son was killed. But turning that anger on those who had nothing to do with it is just wrong. Likely feeling the same way, those at the guild recognized that letting the girls die didn¡¯t make sense. So they sent them over to people who would protect them from nobles, and would let absolutely no harm come to them. In other words: us. And there was one more thing. His murderous intentions being directed at a sage¡¯s apprentice, Marielle, was definitely a problem. Most of the situation has already been reported, and even without the details being told to everyone, there¡¯s a reasonable degree of information on it spreading throughout the city. What would Ondine do if she learned that his outburst resulted in her granddaughter¡¯s death? It¡¯s possible that they would have, not only the Demon Lord, but also a Sage become their enemy. And then it might spread through the network of the four great Sages, and they could all become enemies of Novelius. Though the guild may not know it, at the very least, Haster would definitely become their enemy. Such a situation is something the guild would also prefer to avoid. Especially with the powerful Demon Lord situation they already have on their hands¡­ ~*~ ¡°Please use this room, Miss Marielle. My apologies, but all the guest rooms on the second floor are occupied.¡± ¡°I do not mind. And besides, leaving and returning will be easier from the first floor.¡± ¡°About that, you should probably hold back on¡­¡± ¡°Fear not, I still maintain enough reason to contain myself.¡± Even she, herself, must understand the situation she¡¯s in. About the Demon Lord who appeared in the Labyrinth. And that she swore vengeance against that powerful being. Among the adventurers, that information ran through the ranks like a flash of lightning. Resulting in not a single adventurer remaining who wanted to team up with her. She can¡¯t do it on her own¡­ That reality is something that she is well aware of. As such, she is seeking companions. And the strongest candidates are us. My ability to use magic just as ridiculous as his power is something she learned from the entrance exam. A week passed after she came to stay with us. Miss Alma¡¯s funeral was taken care of. Along with they reality setting in, the mood in the house gradually grew heavier. Marle would hardly leave her room out of fear. Opposite her, Marielle wanted to tag long with us to the labyrinth. Practically running away from the fear and murderous intent of the two of them, we delved into the labyrinth. We left Marielle behind with the excuse that someone needed to look after Marle. She could hardly ignore the person who saved her life, so she behaved and stayed home. Just in case, we left Yig to watch them too. ¡°We don¡¯t have Yig for overhead surveillance today, so be more careful than usual, okay?¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°I wonder how those two are doing.¡± ¡°Well, she ain¡¯t gonna do nothin¡¯ stupid. Marle¡¯s her savior, yeah?¡± We got on the limited express heading to the 51st floor, and discussed our plans for the day to shake off the heavy mood. With our fairly rapid growth, and our high speed in reaching the middle floors, we¡¯ve become pretty famous. So our fellow riders spoke to us familiarly. They said¡ª ¡°Don¡¯t have the winged lizard with you today?¡± ¡°Are those girls doing okay?¡± ¡°To think some Demon Lord really exists¡­¡± For adventurers, who rely principally on power, connections with promising up-and-comers like us are hard to get. Well, among them, half were throwing curses into the mix though. ¡°She really is a ¡°Grim Reaper¡±. This time she got her housemate¡¯s companions killed.¡± ¡°Whoa, hey!¡± ¡°Hah! I¡¯ll say it all I want. It¡¯s the truth, after all.¡± We were already used to slander like that too. No matter how much they disparage Miss Levy, once she joins the top runners, we know they¡¯ll be singing a different tune. Which is exactly why we need to reach the upper floors as soon as possible¡­ As I was thinking about all that, when we reached the 30th floor¡ª That¡¯s when he appeared. ~*~ ¡°Hey, wassup. This carriage is going up, right? Give us a ride too.¡± He had a lighthearted tone, like he was out asking to hitchhike. His clothing was light enough to make one doubt he was out exploring the labyrinth. And he also had a stereotypical Japanese face. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Demon Lord Masayoshi?¡± ¡°What, word of me is already going around? Man, sure is tough being a go-getter of a man¡­ Whoa, hold up, a silver-haired little girl¡ª?!¡± He looked at me, and seemed to get excited in a strange way. He even pumped his fists. ¡°And she¡¯s even got a collar? Wait, don¡¯t tell me someone already bought you?¡± ¡°Hih?!¡± Masayoshi came close enough to be in spitting distance to me. I let out a reflexive scream and hid behind Haster. ¡°She¡¯s my wife. Sorry, but could you try not being so overly familiar with her?¡± ¡°Aw hell, so she¡¯s used already.¡± ¡°Take that remark back.¡± ¡°Oh, I see, I see. So you don¡¯t like people talking about how much of a slut your woman is, huh? I¡¯m soooo sorry, I¡¯ll neeever do it again.¡± He spoke frivolously while waving his hands around lightly. What¡¯s with this attitude, like he¡¯s some brat making fun of him? ¡°You son of a bitch¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong now, I apologized didn¡¯t I? Or what? You wanna go?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to insult the dignity of my wife.¡± ¡ªWai-, Haster! He¡¯s the Demon Lord! Let¡¯s look for a peaceable solution¡­ I pulled on his sleeve to urge caution, but it looked like the blood was already rushing to his head. From the looks of it, he just can¡¯t stay calm when it comes to me. Normally I would be happy about that, but in this situation¡­! Reliable Alec also had his hand on Sentinel¡¯s handle, preparing for an attack. Thinking about it, he¡¯s Marle¡¯s enemy, so I couldn¡¯t really expect anything else from him. Miss Levy was also different from usual, with hands on both her swords, and spreading her bloodlust all around. ¡°What¡¯s going on? You¡¯re all acting weird!¡± ¡°He hurt Marle and Marielle, and now he¡¯s even insulted you. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting him off now.¡± ¡°¡ªEven so!¡± ¡°If you¡¯re afraid, then ¡°watch¡± from the back.¡± At those words, I understood his true intentions. If we can take him down here, great. Even if we can¡¯t, I can ¡°Appraise¡± him so his abilities are laid bare. That¡¯s what he¡¯s saying. I immediately activated ¡°Appraisal,¡± searching out his abilities and, most importantly, his gifts. What he possesses are ¡°Strong Arm,¡± ¡°Full Guard,¡± and ¡°Magic Talent¡±. ¡°Strong Arm¡± is a gift that grants superhuman strength; enough to take down a dragon with one blow. ¡°Full Guard¡± maintains the body so that neither swords nor magic will get through. ¡°Magic Talent,¡± this is one step down from ¡°Peerless Magic¡±. Instead of ¡°Peerless Magic¡¯s¡± effect of optimizing abilities and understanding, this gift apparently only grants aptitudes for all attributes. Before I knew it, the other passengers had gotten off the stopped carriage and were looking on from a distance. They took a position from which they could run at any time, or assist if things are going well. That was the type of ambiance they had. ¡°I¡¯ll give ya a fight. Get down here. Kinda hard to fight when you¡¯re up in a carriage.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­¡± We silently got off the carriage, and took up fighting positions. They also readied themselves for battle. The woman in revealing clothes had bat-like wings coming from her back. The lanky and light-weight men grew claws, and their bodies turned beastly. And the robed man¡¯s face changed into that of a skeleton¡­ The other robed man¡­ He wasn¡¯t even a living creature. His entirety was surrounded in metal armor, and his eyes were cavities¡­ Or maybe he didn¡¯t even have a face at all? Based on his footsteps, the ringing hollow sounds from him, there¡¯s probably nothing inside. Two lycanthropes, a vampire, a lich, a living mail¡­ And the Demon Lord. This was the Demon Lord¡¯s party. ~*~ Who was it that started moving first¡­? I think it was all about at the same time. ¡°GRRRRRAAAAAAHHH!¡± One of the lycanthropes came swinging his claws with a roar. Against him, rather than harden his defenses, Alec took a large step forward. In the back, the lich gathered magic power, and the vampire¡¯s eyes glowed suspiciously. That¡¯s probably charm. But we all have [Rings of Mental Resistance] equipped. In counter to the lich¡¯s magic, I prepared my magic power, while Miss Levy rushed with her swords over to the other lycanthrope. Haster decisively rushed the Demon Lord himself. ¡°Oooooooohh!¡± He swung down Cleaver together with a war cry. That attack was stopped by the armor of the living mail¡­ Which was then thoroughly crushed by the blow. ¡°Oooh, holy hell.¡± The Demon Lord muttered without an ounce of urgency. Now it¡¯s five against four. There was also a change on the lycanthrope front. After stepping into the claw¡¯s attack range, Alec used Sentinel¡¯s weight to push the enemy back, then kicked him away. Against the other lycanthrope, Miss Levy had surpassed her own usual speed, pressing the enemy with her quick swords. She sent one of his arms flying. That¡¯s when the lich activated [Fireball]. ¡ªThe activation was surprisingly fast for how complex the spell is! I certainly didn¡¯t think his confidants were third rate, but this spell deployment is really fast! Just in the nick of time, I deployed a [Water Wall], effectively blocking the [Fireball]. The explosion¡¯s power was enough to shake the labyrinth. We managed to avoid any problems because the [Water Wall] was in time, but we would have been destroyed in an instant if we took a direct hit. ¡ªHe put something together with that much power in such a short time¡­?! Letting him keep the initiative is a bad idea. As I was shifting to the attack with that thought¡­ The vampire interfered. A distinctive movement of sinking into the shadows. ¡ªIf this is the same as against Tony, then¡­ Behind! I instantly pulled Third Eye out and guarded my neck. She sunk her fangs into the bow. Following up, I pulled out an iron arrow, activating [Body Reinforcement] at the same time, and drew back the bow I let her bit into. But just as I released the arrow, she disappeared. ¡°Yuuri!¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Fine¡­ Over here!¡± ¡°Hey, you really got time to look away?¡± Upon my being attacked, Haster dropped his guard for a moment. The Demon Lord used that to attack with his fist. Without defending, Haster aimed for a counter attack with Cleaver¡­ GOBAH! Along with a crushing sound, Cleaver was smashed. ¡°Wha?!¡± ¡°Hey, that rock is friggin¡¯ hard! It might have hurt a little.¡± You¡¯re kidding me, right? Cleaver, with [Toughness] and [Reinforcement] applied to it, was crushed? Just how bullshit is this guy?! While Haster was pulling out his reserve sword, I assessed the battle situation. Miss Levy is at a slight advantage, but Haster is extremely disadvantaged. Alec and I are both in stalemates, and the lich has free reign. Looking at it overall, I guess we¡¯re at a disadvantage? And with that chance, the lich faced Alec and Miss Levy, launching a [Light Arrow]. Except with its size, its practically a light spear. I stopped moving and created an [Earth Wall] to counteract it. The [Light Arrow] was blocked, but that one attack also pulverized the earth wall. Then the vampire went back on the attack, but I somehow managed to dodge it. The lycanthrope¡¯s speed is giving Alec some trouble. He¡¯s a power fighter, so he¡¯s not as good against more maneuverable opponents. In contrast, the speed battle that Miss Levy¡¯s side turned into is continuing in her favor. ¡°Alec, Levy! You need to leave!¡± ¡°How could we run and leave you here, Master?!¡± Now that we¡¯re mid-battle, Haster naturally started thinking calmly. I would have preferred he do so before we started fighting. He slashed at the Demon Lord, but the Demon Lord didn¡¯t even try to dodge. ¡°Alec, calm down. There¡¯s no ¡°second time¡± for you two!¡± ¡°¡ªKgh!¡± The only ones who can come back after death are me and Haster. Knowing I would be attacked, I sent a [Heat Strike] at the lycanthrope in front of Alec. In response, the lich erected an [Earth Wall], but as if that barrier wasn¡¯t even there, I succeeded in pulverizing the lycanthrope¡¯s head. And then the vampire attacked me, tearing off my left arm at its base, and sending it flying. ¡°Augh!¡± ¡°Sis?!¡± ¡°Guh, f-forget it¡­ Just go!¡± The sword Haster attacked with was crushed, and the regenerative powers of the lycanthrope facing Miss Levy was turning the battle into a stalemate. Alec threw Sentinel at the lycanthrope facing Miss levy, creating a brief opening. At that, Haster hit him with [Wind Blade¡¯s] enhanced version, [Wind Dusting], tearing him to shreds. And then he¡­ The Demon Lord used magic to freeze him solid. He must have broken through the high resistance from the [Ring of Mental Resistance] Haster was wearing to succeed in using [Freeze] on him. ¡°Haster?!¡± ¡°Master!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t! We gotta retreat, now!¡± Just as Alec was making to run over to Haster, Miss Levy met him and practically dragged him away. With the feeling puking blood, I sent a rain of [Light Arrows] in his entire area. ¡°What in the¡­!¡± The attack I launched, while consuming the limits of my magic power, made the lich exclaim in shock. It was just a few seconds¡­ Just that was enough to fire off an amount that scorched the area¡­ I confirmed that after taking a direct hit, the Demon Lord didn¡¯t have a scratch on him. ¡°Damn monster¡ª¡° After taking enough fire power to gouge into the World Tree¡¯s pathways, he¡¯s still unharmed? While everything in front of me was going dark from blood loss, I took a counterattack, a [Fireball]. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: The fourth act ends next chapter. Chapter 95: Determination Chapter 95: Determination Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Just as expected, I awoke in the labyrinth¡¯s corridor. The Demon Lord must not have known I¡¯m ¡°Immortal¡±. If he did know, he probably would have brought me along as take-out. When I thought back on that moment, the chills I got down my spine were like ice. So there are, in fact, people who can be physiologically repulsing. That was a problem for me already though, of course. Upon looking and taking in the surroundings, it looked like Haster¡¯s bodily regeneration was finished. Although there wasn¡¯t much else to do about it, I do feel guilty about smashing his body. I hold his body, and start by searching the area with [Sonar]. An hour should have passed since the battle, so the Demon Lord¡¯s group is already long gone. The only things left on site were the two lycanthrope corpses and the debris of the living mail. Alec threw Sentinel, but that¡¯s not here either. Did they run off with it? ¡°So those are¡­ Our enemies¡­¡± I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry him back on my own, so I¡¯ll have to camp out here until he opens his eyes. Alec and Miss Levy might just come back for us anyway; it would probably be best to stay put for now. Even so, my clothes are a mess. All the luggage I had was burnt away by the [Fireball] too. Thankfully the Sealing Magic Mirror and my collar are fine, thanks to having [Toughness] on them. A big thanks to Haster for reworking them so they wouldn¡¯t break. I think I would have preferred if the collar¡¯s gift sealing broke though¡­ As a camping ground, I made walls from [Water Wall] and [Freeze] used together to keep invaders out. He didn¡¯t have any clothes left on him at all, so I placed my magic-filled mantle over him. Now that I¡¯ve got a moment to breathe, let¡¯s look back on the battle we just had. ¡°Enough strength to destroy Cleaver from ¡°Strong Arm¡±, and ¡°Full Guard¡± to repel magic. They¡¯re truly simple¡­ And ridiculously strong gifts.¡± Guess he didn¡¯t hold back in his requests to God. The strongest weapon and armor. His lack of ¡°Immortality¡± is a relief I suppose. The standard strategy in this situation would be to have him attack himself, but¡­ ¡°The fact that it¡¯s not an actual weapon or armor makes that a lot more difficult.¡± I have a feeling getting him to clock himself with his fists mid-battle is going to be practically impossible. Plus¡­ There¡¯s that lich he¡¯s got along escorting him. And then the vampire playing interference. They both seemed pretty seasoned. I could acutely feel their familiarity with battle. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we took out the lycanthropes and the living mail, but they¡¯re still going to be a problem.¡± If we just put up a good fight with some strategy¡­ Is what I had thought, but it feels like we were totally trampled. Thinking about competing with that is enough to make me sigh. Just then, having estimated the time, Alec and Miss Levy returned. ~*~ ¡°Master, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who told you to run. You¡¯ve got nothing to apologize for.¡± Apparently he feels burdened by the thought that he left his Master, and the person who¡¯s like an older sister to him, and ran. But that¡¯s not the actual problem. ¡°The real problem is actually that you didn¡¯t run when he said to. Unlike us, you can¡¯t regenerate, remember?¡± ¡°I know that, but¡­¡± ¡°Well, I get how you feel. Just make sure you listen to your orders next time.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Your tone may be majestic, but that dignity just goes to shit when you¡¯re cheerfully putting on your pants at the same time, Haster. He¡¯s borrowing Alec¡¯s change of clothes right now. Mine were in tatters too, so I borrowed Miss Levy¡¯s spare outfit. The length of the shirt was like a dress on me, and there was too much chest space; it was at the level where you could peep by looking from above, but anyway¡­ ¡°Lounging around here is probably dangerous, but¡­ I have a feeling holding a meeting at the house is dangerous too, so why don¡¯t we talk a bit here?¡± ¡°How¡¯d that be any kinda dangerous?¡± ¡°Levy, Marielle¡¯s at our house right now, see? Do you think she¡¯s going to sit quietly if she hears us holding a Demon Lord strategy meeting?¡± ¡°Guess not.¡± ¡°There are other people we don¡¯t want hearing us either. Like a certain noble whose son was killed.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be holdin¡¯ a meetin¡¯ at the house, can¡¯t be holdin¡¯ one outside of it either, huh. Ain¡¯t no other choice I guess.¡± And so we held our Demon Lord countermeasures meeting inside an ice house, in the labyrinth¡¯s corridor. ~*~ ¡°Yuuri, what are his gifts?¡± ¡°He has three of them; ¡°Strong Arm,¡± ¡°Full Guard,¡± and ¡°Magic Talent¡±. Thankfully he¡¯s gone for good if we kill him. Except that¡¯s exactly why he¡¯s climbing this place.¡± I conveyed the details of those gifts while I was at it. ¡°Enough superhuman strength to crush Cleaver¡­ Unbelievable.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t get a single scratch when I was slashing him with my sword either.¡± ¡°My rain of [Light Arrows] didn¡¯t even leave a char mark on him.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ we can hit him with!¡± God sure did give out something outrageous. And to a guy with the worst character too. ¡°Personality-wise¡­ The guy¡¯s a brat. And an undisciplined one at that.¡± ¡°Agreed. There might not even be any malice to it. He¡¯s just the type who tramples anyone who gets in his way, even if they¡¯re his allies.¡± ¡°He even friggin¡¯ ran off with my Sentinel¡­¡± The theft of Sentinel and destruction of Cleaver mean our fighting power just got majorly downgraded. But those armaments can be made again. On the other end, the Demon Lord lost two lycanthropes, and the living mail was destroyed. I¡¯m thinking the lich is going to regenerate the living mail, but¡­ That should have given them a downgrade in their fighting power too. ¡°I really would have like to take the vampire down I suppose.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not your fault Yuuri. Actually, you did a great job acting as Alec¡¯s support, the lich¡¯s opponent, and a decoy for the vampire in that situation.¡± He reached his hand out to my head, and pulled me in close to his chest. ¡°Well if you put it that way¡­¡± ¡°If I only coulda taken care o¡¯ that beast faster, though.¡± ¡°On that point, I didn¡¯t do anything decent on my end.¡± ¡°In any case, we have gathered the minimum information we needed, so we¡¯ll call it all good. Knowing the details of his gifts is big. And his personality too.¡± With that personality of his, any simple provocation seems likely to pull him in. If we just lay a trap using that, we might be able to manage¡­ something? ¡°Also¡­ It turns out only having four people really is leaving us shorthanded.¡± Six person parties are standard in this labyrinth. Four people is just turning out to be too few in here. The biggest burden being laid on me was also because we were lacking in numbers. ¡°In that case¡­ Do you plan on inviting Marielle?¡± ¡°When it comes to her intentions I¡¯m reluctant, but there¡¯s nothing to criticize when it comes to her abilities. As she is now though, she¡¯ll probably go berserk the moment we meet them¡­¡± ¡°So are you saying we should walk around trying not to meet them? I¡¯m pretty reluctant myself to be sneaking around the whole time.¡± Alec looks dissatisfied as he interjects with his own opinion. But if we were to add Marielle to our group, we would have to wander around trying not to meet them, or it would turn into a repeat of today¡¯s scuffle the moment we saw their faces. ¡°That¡¯s not something we can do much about either. We lost against them, after all. And besides¡­¡± ¡°Besides?¡± ¡°¡­ It would be best endure this humiliation and, without forgetting it, leave it at that.¡± He loudly ground his teeth together. Looks like he¡¯s thinking carefully on this past matter. ¡°We¡¯ll have our clash with them in five years; until then, we¡¯ll endure this disgrace. As long as we win at the very end, it¡¯s fine.¡± He spoke as if squeezing out every word. We were deprived of our weapons, broken and defeated, the confidence in our strength crushed. Marle was hurt, and all Alec could do was abandon his Master. I was insulted, and Haster couldn¡¯t even retaliate. Haster was killed, and I couldn¡¯t even repay it with a single arrow. We were weak; that¡¯s the bitter pill we were forced to swallow. Even if our main goal was to gauge the enemy, we didn¡¯t have the slightest intention of losing. Our progress up until now was simply by going with the flow, but thanks to them we have some motivation behind us. Nabbing the sprout of the World Tree and running away¡­ Would be unthinkable. This anger isn¡¯t going to settle down until we beat them down directly. ¡°We need¡­ To get stronger.¡± ¡°Yeah, way stronger.¡± With renewed determination, we left the labyrinth. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: This ends the 4th act. Next time we¡¯ll have a time skip and start back up five years later. Translator¡¯s Note: But first we have an interlude chapter! Chapter 96: Interlude - The Demon Lord’s Adventure Chapter 96: Interlude - The Demon Lord¡¯s Adventure Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations ¡°They were quite skilled, your majesty.¡± ¡°Hm? Yeah, more or less. Well, they left such a sweet-ass sword for me, so they have my appreciation.¡± I said ¡°more or less,¡± but the battle just then¡­ Those four people on that passing carriage were friggin¡¯ dangerous. What the hell was that mass of iron?! It took out the living mail that the lich, Vassago made in one hit? The thing just felt too dangerous, so I went directly for smashing it, but still. ¡°That magician; the power and number of [Light Arrows] she loosed was startling. I would have liked to make her my subordinate.¡± ¡°Yeah? Well, it is unfortunate about the silver-haired little girl. The other woman was a pretty nice looking thing too. It¡¯s too bad she got away.¡± ¡°The loss of Scott and Daniel is also painful. We no longer have anyone to fulfill the scouting role.¡± ¡°We can just stomp through any of that nonsense.¡± ¡°Your majesty may be fine doing so, but our less capable selves will be incapable.¡± ¡°¡­ Tsk!¡± Of course I¡¯m gonna click my tongue at this point. Thanks to ¡°Magic Talent,¡± I can generally use magic effectively, but that doesn¡¯t mean I have any concept of how it works, or how to put it together. In magic I¡¯m a jack of all trades, and a master of none. This guy¡¯s magic will often be important in successfully conquer everything ahead. The vampire Claudia¡¯s shadow jump and her physical resistances should have their uses too. Since we can¡¯t detect traps anymore, the skills of these two are going to be necessary. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll take the lead, and you can both follow behind me. You should be be able to deal with the traps after they¡¯ve been activated somehow, right?¡± ¡°Is that acceptable?¡± ¡°Both of your skills will probably be important further in at some point.¡± ¡°As you wish. I shall unquestionably meet the expectations of your majesty.¡± Bowing to me is fine and all, but this baggage is getting heavy. Those damn puppies, Scott and Daniel, were killed like they were nothing. How lame. ¡°More importantly, we have two more people¡¯s share of bags to carry now. Do something about it.¡± ¡°Indeed, I do not have the materials at present to create a new living mail, so a golem will have to do as a replacement.¡± Saying that, he pulled a tree branch and a lump of metal from his pouch, and chanted. Since I only have talent in using magic, I don¡¯t have a clue what he¡¯s saying. After incomprehensibly muttering for about thirty minutes, the small tree branch and lump of metal became a golem over two meters tall. I wonder what happened to the law of preservation of mass? ¡°Eh, oh well. Awright, let¡¯s have that thing hold our bags. I¡¯ll be busy using this sword, after all.¡± ¡°I hear and obey.¡± It¡¯s the over-two-meters-long sword the kid from before was holding. This thing¡¯s pretty amazing. It¡¯s abnormally light compared to how it looks. And yet its mass is all sitting right where it should be. And its sturdy too. If I swing a sword seriously, then the grip gets crushed in my hands, and the blade easily bends and breaks. But that¡¯s absolutely no concern with this thing. Which means I finally got an appropriate weapon for me. ¡°Well, I may not have gotten a slave, but considering I got the strongest of weapons instead, I don¡¯t feel too bad about it. Even if it is secondhand.¡± And then, with perfect timing, goblin warriors appeared. Great, guess I¡¯ll give this thing a test drive. ¡°Oraa!¡± I stepped right forward and gave it a light swing. If it were an ordinary sword, this is when the handle would crumble, and the end of the sword would go flying. But this thing took my strength just fine. And with the acceleration from the centrifugal force, all of it was sent into the goblin warrior. With a splat, like I was stomping on a fruit, the enemy was turned to pieces and sent flying. ¡°Hahah, this is good! Really good!¡± There wasn¡¯t even anything left of it. This feels awesome! ¡°Next. Let me slash at you punks some more!¡± Next I put some strength into the swing. This time turned to pieces would be putting it lightly; he just turned into a fucking spray of blood. ¡°Hahah, hahahaha¡­ HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!¡± Three more were remaining. I laughed as I smeared the passageway. ~*~ ¡°Splendidly done, your majesty.¡± ¡°Yeah, this thing is great! It¡¯s the best!¡± ¡°My, in high spirits I see. How unusual.¡± ¡°¡­ Where the hell were you?¡± Claudia called out to me as I was humming merrily after the battle. This woman said ¡°I¡¯m hungry¡± after the fight against those guys from before, then just up and disappeared¡­ ¡°Oh, you know. Just taking a few bites out of some adventurers.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t care if they hunt you down.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nobody skilled enough for that in here.¡± ¡°We just met some who were.¡± How could she forget the silver haired one that nearly blasted her face off just a bit ago. These vampires are incredibly prideful; she¡¯s probably making it out like she was never in any danger. ¡°Hmph, I could turn all of them into minced meat on my own if I actually tried.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite the thing to say, considering the danger you would have been in if Vassago hadn¡¯t backed you up.¡± ¡°You think that was necessary? That brat couldn¡¯t keep up with my moves.¡± ¡°¡®Tis foolish to make light of the enemy. Had that girl chosen to burn the entire area to nothing, neither your clever moves nor speed would have mattered.¡± ¡°What are you getting at, skeleton? Are you trying to say I¡¯m being petty?¡± The two of them disregarded me and began glaring at each other. They get like this the moment I take my eyes off them. ¡°We don¡¯t need to worry about the dead. Let¡¯s hurry forward; there¡¯s still more than 950 floors left.¡± And so I took a step forward¡­ And was turned upside down. ~*~ ¡°PUHAHAAHHAHAHA! Oh, your majesty, you¡¯re too funny!¡± ¡°Your majesty, I shall have you down soon; please hold for a moment.¡± ¡°¡­ Who¡¯s the bastard that set this up?¡± Once I had a chance to realize what was going on, I found it was a simple ankle trap. But we didn¡¯t have anyone who could notice that kind of thing. Far off in the distance, there are some kobolds laughing their asses off. I will murder them in a second. Vassago sent a [Wind Blade] to cut the ivy twined around my leg. Once I hit the ground, I took up my great sword and immediately took off at a dash. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare move, you damn mutts!¡± And then I fell into a pitfall trap. ~*~ ¡°Your majesty, I shall pull you up soon¡­¡± ¡°He, hehehehe¡­ Are you trying to make me die of laughter?! ¡®Cause you¡¯re killing me here! AhahHAHAHAHA!¡± ¡°Shut up, or I¡¯m going to kill you.¡± I was pulled up from the pitfall, and sat on the floor. The kobolds seem to have fled in that time. I¡¯ll remember this¡­ ¡°Hey, maybe we really should go back and hire a scout?¡± ¡°Except that we have just recently exposed our identities. Considering the many witnesses, it will likely spread throughout the city soon enough. How many would be willing to join hands with us is¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯d manage something if we force them to gather together for us.¡± ¡°I do not believe we would be able to gather many skilled individuals under such a plan.¡± ¡°Shit¡­¡± Anyone skilled enough for us would probably hide themselves as soon as they felt threatened. If they can¡¯t do that, then it means their ability to sense danger is low¡­ In other words, they would be useless. It¡¯s completely contradictory. ¡°Ugh, whatever. Hey, actually I want you to make a tough golem to walk ahead of us. I won¡¯t be able to take this forever if I¡¯m in the lead the whole time.¡± ¡°I most certainly hear and obey.¡± ¡°Claudia, you fly up and watch from above. Don¡¯t overlook anything.¡± ¡°What a pain.¡± Even though she made her idle complaints, she still gently floated upward. Somewhere inside this independently tempered vampire, she apparently fell for me and came along, but¡­ I¡¯ve gotten pretty doubtful of that. ¡°We¡¯ll continue in this formation for now. If we get stuck somewhere, then we¡¯ll deal with it when it happens.¡± ¡°As you will.¡± ¡°Got iiit.¡± And so, with a rough-looking road ahead, our march began. Chapter 97: Five Years Later… Chapter 97: Five Years Later¡­ 5th Act The World Tree Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Five years have passed since our battle, and defeat, against Demon Lord Masayoshi. Thanks to the golem transport network¡¯s expansion, the conquering of the labyrinth has steadily progressed, and is currently up to floor 402. When you consider that it was up to floor 232 after several hundred years before, 170 floors of progress in just five years is a miraculous achievement. The Demon Lord and crew have left those top runners in the dust, and are supposedly wandering around floor 950 right now. They only come back down to the city once every few months at this point. We have also left those top runners in the dust, and are past floor 900. But we¡¯re still returning to town once a month. That¡¯s because floor 500 and 800 (504 and 812 to be precise) had cave-like openings that we noticed, and found we could freely travel through. As for how we could climb that high up¡­ That was the biggest problem, but over the months and years that problem was easily solved. That¡¯s because Yig had his first molting, and ended up growing into a huge 10 meter long dragon. He lets us ride three at a time on his back, and carries us up to the shortcut. The only thing is, that huge body of his would just get in the way inside the labyrinth, so he couldn¡¯t enter with us anymore, but¡­ Now he¡¯s built himself a cave on the outskirts of the town, and is living there. At first the townspeople fell into a panic, but now they¡¯re used to him. He¡¯s being treated just like a guardian deity. One reason our conquering has progressed is because Marielle has joined us, stabilizing our party¡¯s battle power. And following in her participation, Marle has also stepped into the labyrinth conquering scene, which has been big. ¡°I can¡¯t go home and abandon my friends,¡± is what she said. She was shaking and crying¡­ But even so, she pressed on. She really is a strong girl. As a result of the rapid growth from the labyrinth, and the use of the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood,¡± she¡¯s had a sudden increase in her abilities, and now has abilities comparable to Mister Bhav of Forest Bear. So with our problem of being fatally shorthanded solved, plus Marle¡¯s trap searching abilities, we were able to progress in our exploration more continuously without returning to town. And we ourselves have also changed significantly since then. ~*~ ¡°Whew, so once we climb this cliff, next is the boss then?¡± Alec skillfully climbed the huge difference in height and, while supporting himself with his left hand, sent a rope down for us. Yeah, one of the huge benefits of having Marielle join us was this. Alec now has both of his arms. By using her regenerative magic, she successfully managed to restore his left arm. Thanks to that, he no longer has to rely solely on one battle style, and can now freely switch between all sorts of swordplay. His abilities are at a level where Haster doesn¡¯t even serve as practice anymore. ¡°A cliff inside the labyrinth is just¡­ How can I say this¡­ It¡¯s like the labyrinth is messing with us.¡± Haster spoke while climbing the rope, with me on his back. Equipped on his arms are claws made from beast fangs. He¡¯s made a complete shift from swords to a focus on hand-to-hand fighting. ¡°Ain¡¯t a huge surprise considerin¡¯ the scale of it all though.¡± Miss Levy is easily climbing the wall without using the rope. At her waist are two brand new short swords. We found them near floor 700 of this labyrinth. They¡¯re some real gems, [Enchanted] with water and fire attributes. I added my own [Enchantments] on top of that, powering them up to the equivalent of items made from dragon materials. ¡°M-M-M-Marle, don¡¯t drop me¡­ Please, please don¡¯t drop me, will you?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re heavy! Don¡¯t move around so much, Mary!¡± ¡°How rude, calling me heavy!¡± Just like me, Marielle isn¡¯t the athletic type, so she¡¯s being carried up by Marle. Those two have gotten a lot closer since then, and call each other ¡°Marle,¡± and ¡°Mary¡± very familiarly. Their matching leather armor is a pleasant sight. That leather armor was made from Yig¡¯s molted hide. As is to be expected from Fafnir¡¯s descendant, the defensive power of that leather is nothing to scoff at. While more solid than standard metal armor, it¡¯s more flexible than a robe. Now I¡¯ll explain the equipment we¡¯ve obtained up to this point. First, Haster¡¯s claws, the ¡°Beast King¡¯s Claws¡±. I think we got these somewhere around floor 600. They¡¯re light, sturdy, and don¡¯t inhibit hand movements. For a magician like him, they¡¯re probably the most suitable arms he could hope for. Ripping into the enemy¡¯s flesh, digging in and throwing them, then with their posture broken, hitting them with magic. This has become his golden pattern. Next is Miss Levy¡¯s dual swords, ¡°Cthugha¡± and ¡°Hydra¡±. At the use of a command word, Cthugha becomes clad in fire, and Hydra in freezing air. There aren¡¯t many opponents against whom both of them are effective attribute-wise, but there also aren¡¯t many against whom they¡¯re both ineffective. They¡¯ve become a reliable part of our fighting power. By the way, said wielder of these swords calls them ¡°Guren¡± and ¡°Kuurubo¡±. Weren¡¯t there people with those names on a certain baseball team? That¡¯s in my original world though. And then there¡¯s Alec¡¯s great sword, ¡°Gram¡±. We obtained this around when we passed floor 900. Its blade is much thinner than Sentinel¡¯s, but it is a sword of comparably great length. The sharpness of the blade is also much higher, and it¡¯s made of much more stable material too. With Alec¡¯s physical strength he can use it one-handed, and his attack power has increased. He could be considered even more of a front-liner now. There¡¯s also the healing magic amplifying staff called ¡°Branch of the World Tree,¡± the stealth and detection enhancing circlet, ¡°Owl¡¯s Eye,¡± and a whole bunch of other stuff. As for why all these items weren¡¯t taken by the Demon Lord¡¯s group ahead of us¡­ Apparently our taking out the lycanthropes was effective. They must have been the scouts in their party. The traveling pace of the Demon Lord¡¯s group in one year took a massive hit after that battle. Traps are dealt with by the Demon Lord trampling over them. That type of searching method shouldn¡¯t be doing much for increasing their speed. As a result, important and valuable items cleverly hidden by the labyrinth were almost entirely overlooked by them. Thanks to that, we in the late pack have been able to expect some delicious things. After they¡¯ve run through springing all the traps, we¡¯ve been able to recover the treasure and have a comparatively safe search as we progress. ¡°Well, thanks to them being even more of muscle-bound idiots than we could have hoped, we¡¯ve been able to get this far with with ease.¡± ¡°Starting to feel a little gratified?¡± ¡°Just a little bit.¡± ¡°I still haven¡¯t forgotten my grudge against them for stealing Sentinel.¡± ¡°Is that the only thing, Sir Alec?¡± Marle pouted and puffed out her cheeks. She¡¯s gotten some curves over these five years¡­ Yeah, I¡¯m totally not jealous at all, okay?! As she is now, that act of puffing out her cheeks at him is, how should I say this¡­ It¡¯s foul play. ¡°I would hope that you are not forgetting our objective either, Marle?¡± The one saying that, Marielle is¡­ In a word, ¡°explosive¡±. She¡¯s dynamite. Yeah, when Marle said she was heavy earlier, she wasn¡¯t necessarily wrong. With all that extra size on her, she would unmistakably be heavy. I feel like Haster has been ogling her lately, so I¡¯m worried he might make a mistake if I don¡¯t deal with him appropriately. ¡°Of course, regarding Miss Alma¡­ I won¡¯t forget. Ever.¡± ¡°Yes, we shall have our revenge on him together.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Precisely because they¡¯re together is why Marielle is able to pursue her vengeance without going crazy. Thanks to their simple friendship being upgraded to the best of friends. ¡°How far ahead were Masayoshi and them again?¡± ¡°Around 30 floors is it? Well, with [Sonar] and Marle here, we should be able to catch up to them soon enough if they¡¯re that close.¡± But then we have each of the strata bosses to consider. As is to be expected, the bosses after floor 900 are strong. They aren¡¯t quite in the same class as Fafnir, but it would be perfectly normal for a comparable dragon to appear. We may have gotten stronger, but we still can¡¯t thoughtlessly step into their territory. ¡°I wonder what the boss is here?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t got a clue at this point.¡± ¡°There have been nothing but dragon-like things lately; I really hope this one is more normal.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t really hit flying enemies with a sword, after all.¡± Well, if it keeps its distance, then I¡¯ll just target it with some long-range bombardment of course. With Marielle¡¯s [Barrier] magic, along with mine and Haster¡¯s [Heat Strike] or [Wind Dust], we can practically shut the enemy out. Once we get past here, floor 920 is cleared. Only 80 more floors left. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get ready. Let¡¯s be careful since we don¡¯t know what the enemy is. Close quarters or long distance, flying or grounded, physical attacks or magic attacks; you know how we should deal with each of these, yeah?¡± ¡°Yes, okay on that front.¡± I go over a number of simulations in my mind. My role is to respond to a variety of enemies, and set the stage for the battle. ¡°Do we have enough antidotes, paralysis removal, petrification removal, and other medicines?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Yep, no problem, Mister Haster.¡± Marle takes a look through the bags. She may have powered up significantly, but she¡¯s not strong enough to be part of our fighting power. So she has the role of running around the battlefield using medicines, potions, and the like, almost like a battlefield medic. Her high detection skills are exactly why we can trust her with these important potions. If she¡¯s taking care of healing, then Marielle can act in a wider variety of situations. ¡°How about you, Marielle? Do you still have enough magic power?¡± ¡°Being carried by Marle made things quite relaxed for me, so I am in perfect condition.¡± ¡°You¡¯re seriously heavy, Mary.¡± ¡°I am not heavy!¡± The burden on Marielle was greatly reduced by the addition of Marle. We¡¯ve been able to economize well following this pattern so far. ¡°Levy, make sure you figure out its attributes.¡± ¡°Just leave that right to me!¡± With her effective use of two attributes, she can deal with many more enemies than Alec, with his complete devotion to physical attacks. Due to that high versatility, probing the enemy has become her most important position. Well, I follow-up with ¡°Appraisal¡± too, of course. ¡°Alright, we can make a trip back once we fight this. Don¡¯t space out just because it¡¯s the last one!¡± ¡°Right!¡± After firing ourselves up, we proceeded into the boss room. ¡ªAnd we killed it. Goodnight, Mister Efreet. Chapter 98: Flame Axe Chapter 98: Flame Axe Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Having cleared floor 920, we decided to make a brief return to the ground. While conquering the labyrinth, there a a number of things we¡¯ve realized. According to what Bahamut was saying, the labyrinth has a sort of immunization process, so if we use [Teleport] then the magic circle would be destroyed by the immunization function. But then I realized there¡¯s an inconsistency if that¡¯s true. That being the weapon summoning of the now lost Cleaver and Sentinel. If it was going to reject [Teleport] within the labyrinth, then from the second time onward is the moment that immunity should have shown itself¡­ And yet we were able to safely use them, up to the point of destruction. I did a number of investigations on this, but¡­ I suppose the conclusion I reached would be the difference between ¡°installation¡± and ¡°deployment¡±? In other words, in the case of a fixed ¡°installation,¡± within the labyrinth, the labyrinth will treat it as an alteration, starting up the immunity to deal with it. As a test, I ¡°installed¡± a [Light Ball] magic circle within the labyrinth, and when I tried to use it to light up the corridor, some cilia or tentacle-like things grew in a the blink of an eye and destroyed it. However, when I placed a [Light Ball] on the floor without fixing it in place, merely ¡°deploying¡± it, there was absolutely no response. Most likely, the moment something exhibiting a magical effect is fixed within the labyrinth, it becomes aware that ¡®the labyrinth has been altered.¡¯ Which meant, ¡®couldn¡¯t we use [Teleport] all we like as long as it¡¯s not fixed in place?¡¯ Is what I thought, but¡­ To be honest, I didn¡¯t have that kind of courage. Not having it at a fixed point means not knowing where we will be transferred to. If we were to draw a magic circle on a cloth or stone tablet, and a passing dragon decided to gobble it up, then we were to [Teleport]¡­ Or if we were to hang a magic circle like a curtain over one of the holes in the World Tree¡¯s¡­ With the former, we would start being digested the moment we [Teleported], and get annihilated. With the latter, it could mean a ropeless bungee jump from the 812th floor, at a height of 16000 meters. Those kinds of conquering methods are gambles, where that one-in-a-million chance of failure leads to certain death. They are rejected outright. But well, heading home is another matter altogether. The [Teleport] location is the house¡¯s basement, and in times of emergency the surrounding doors and walls in all directions have [Toughness] cast on them. Moreover, Bahamut is standing guard there. You could call it flawless. So with that in mind, our journeys start with placing a wind barrier on Yig (a measure against altitude sickness), and have him carry us to floor 812 as a shortcut. Then we make a golem, cheat our way up by running past all the floors we¡¯ve conquered. And for returning, we use a [Teleport] magic circle and poof, we move to the basement. Such has become our established transportation method. ~*~ And one more thing I realized. I guess you could call it an abnormality about us ourselves, or with all our members aside from me? Unlike the unbreakable-bodied Demon Lord, undead lich and vampire making up the Demon Lord party, or Bahamut, who made a 100 person ¡°army¡± to conquer the place, we are normal people. I felt something was off about us keeping pace with them in conquering this place. People are creatures who have a difficult time maintaining nervous tension. And we¡¯re moving about for days and weeks inside the labyrinth; the greatest of stress-inducing environments. It¡¯s obvious just how reckless an act that is. Despite that, we are doing so easily. Naturally we build up fatigue inside the labyrinth, but when we get back to the house and take a day to refresh, we¡¯re as good as new in no time at all. Our wounds didn¡¯t heal, but our mental recovery speed was pretty incredible. Plus everyone maintained perfect health in these five years, not getting sick once. Naturally I thought this was odd. And then something came to mind. The water we¡¯ve been drinking¡­ The stuff we¡¯ve been carrying with water bags into the labyrinth; it came from the World Tree¡¯s roots. In other words, it¡¯s a type of sap. Of course it came from cutting into the cilia of it, so it¡¯s probably not as effective as the rumored miracle medicine, ¡°Elixer,¡± but apparently it¡¯s effective in mental recovery and maintaining good health. As a result, we were able to keep delving into the labyrinth in both good mind and body. Yeah, except for the one whose ¡°Adaptability¡± removes the effect; me¡­ Also the water is keeping Haster full of vim and vigor every night. Please do something about that. ~*~ ¡°I wonder what this could be¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean¡­? It¡¯s an axe.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s an axe! I¡¯m wondering why something like this useless thing would appear right now!¡± Upon defeating Efreet, one of its wings remained after it disappeared. And then the wing turned into an axe, and now we¡¯re here. ¡°Is it really that useless? I¡¯m feeling some pretty absurd magic power coming from it though?¡± ¡°Ya darn right, from what I¡¯m seein¡¯, it¡¯s [Enchanted] with [Hellfire] way stronger than my Guren. Ain¡¯t no reason to call it useless.¡± ¡°And how would that escape my notice with ¡°Appraisal¡±? I¡¯m calling it useless for a different reason.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°By the way, its name is Agni Blaze. Really rings with a 14 year old¡¯s sensibilities.¡± Even though the axe is nearly two meters, it¡¯s extremely light. Even I can carry it around. I¡¯ve already got Third Eye though, so I¡¯m not going to be using it. ¡°Well, just give it a try please, Miss Levy. The command word is ¡®Ignite¡¯.¡± ¡°¡­? ¡®Ignite¡¯.¡± The moment she said that, a raging flame burst forth from Agni Blaze. Normally you would think of red for a flame, but what came from the axe had passed into being white, and gave off a very pure light, which seemed to fill the entire area. ¡°NUWAAAAA?!¡± Oh by the way, the flames were coming from the entire axe, so Miss Levy¡¯s hands were very thoroughly fried. ¡­ We¡¯ve got Marielle. It¡¯s no big deal. ¡°See?¡± ¡°¡®See?¡¯ my ass! Y¡¯know that burned, right?!¡± ¡°Come now, I will heal you. Show me your hands if you would.¡± Oh, if she needs to touch it directly for her magic, it must have been a pretty nasty injury. I¡¯m repenting a little bit. As should probably be expected of Marielle, being the water apprentice, unlike Miss Bella of Forest Bear, she can use regular healing magic from a distance for lighter injuries. But of course heavy wounds requires direct contact for the healing. ¡°Yep, that¡¯s some absurd magic power.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it? A failure as a weapon though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡± ¡°It certainly is.¡± ¡°Hey! Ya¡¯ll master and apprentice pair over there! Ain¡¯t gonna say nothin¡¯ after seein¡¯ my misery?!¡± Miss Levy was apparently dissatisfied about Haster and I nodding to each other. ¡°Isn¡¯t this just reaping what you sow?¡± ¡°Ya¡¯ll were the one who told me to use it though!¡± ¡°You are not a child; don¡¯t stomp on the ground like that. I just thought you wouldn¡¯t be very convinced if I had explained it to you instead.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have thought fire would come from the handle.¡± ¡°Hey, do you think the Demon Lord¡¯s group ahead of us already has this?¡± At Alec¡¯s words I realized how serious this situation is. With Demon Lord Masayoshi¡¯s ¡°Full Guard,¡± he could use this axe as much as he wants. ¡°They probably¡­ Do.¡± The guardians at every five floors have a set species. What we fought is the same thing the Demon Lord fought. And since they plowed their way through there, that means they¡¯ve already obtained Agni Blaze too¡­ ¡°Whether we can use it or not, I guess we¡¯ll need to think up countermeasures.¡± ¡°This is trouble¡­¡± We haven¡¯t just been leveling the whole time in these five years. That Demon Lord can¡¯t be taken down by force. So we¡¯ve been thinking up all sorts of countermeasures against him. But we didn¡¯t expect the matters of consideration to increase at this point. ¡°Luckily it doesn¡¯t look like Agni Blaze has [Toughness] cast on it, so Masayoshi shouldn¡¯t be able to swing it as it is.¡± ¡°But they took Sentinel with them, right? They might be able to analyze its [Enchantments] like Yuuri does.¡± ¡°You certainly discovered a troublesome technique. To think you would purposely leave it incomplete and fill it with magic afterward¡­¡± ¡°Sentinel should have run out of magic power by now, and yet¡­ Based on the traces of their battles left behind, they¡¯re still using it. Which means¡­¡± The labyrinth¡¯s corridors are getting narrower as we get closer to the top. And traces of sections carved out like they were hit by explosions can be seen here and there. Of course the World Tree is regenerating to heal those traces, but there¡¯s enough destructive power that it leaves marks behind that can¡¯t be healed. ¡°I¡¯m sure that lich could analyze it and handle the magic power refilling easily enough.¡± That speed and accuracy¡­ His spell activation is so precise it could be put in a textbook. He has enough practice to do so freely and easily. It was the first time I¡¯ve seen accuracy comparable to Haster¡¯s since coming to this world. Ah, aside from Bahamut. ¡°Bahamut, huh¡­ I wonder how he would deal with this?¡± ¡°That axe? I¡¯d just burn him to a crisp before he got close!¡± ¡°Our opponent isn¡¯t so easily dealt with, and besides, we can¡¯t breathe fire!¡± This dragon king has made himself completely at home in our house lately. And he mixed himself naturally into our meeting at some point, too! ¡°Ah, well, I was just thinking it¡¯s about time for dinner.¡± ¡°Are you a dog?! Don¡¯t you see anything wrong with showing up out of nowhere only when it¡¯s time for food?!¡± We held our meeting while drinking tea as soon as we got back, so the dinner prep hasn¡¯t been done yet. Being the only one not receiving the effects of the water we¡¯re using, I am the most fatigued one here. I¡¯d like to take things a little easier¡­ ¡°Then I¡¯ll make the food today.¡± Haster said as he stood from his chair. Will this be okay? He¡¯s good at cooking, but it¡¯s¡­ Pretty wild. ¡°Oooh, come to think of it, I haven¡¯t eaten the sage¡¯s cooking yet!¡± ¡°Sir Haster¡¯s cooking¡­ Be still, my beating heart!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not giving him to you, okay Marielle?¡± ¡°I-I am not trying to take anyone!¡± We explained Haster¡¯s situation to Marielle too. I mean, we¡¯re companions, so we kinda had to. Thirty minutes after he stood up. He randomly and skillfully cut up some meat, fried it, sliced up some vegetables¡­ And before we knew it, dinner was served. Presented to us was the orthodox steak, and salad with raspberries on top? ¡°I can¡¯t believe Haster cooked something normal¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be rude. Even I can do some real cooking.¡± ¡°Time to dig in!¡± ¡°Master¡¯s cooking always has a battlefield kind of taste for some reason.¡± ¡°Alec, you¡¯re joining me for magic practice tomorrow.¡± ¡°Am I going to die?!¡± Haster hasn¡¯t been a match for Alec in swordsmanship lately, so he opposes him with magic. When that happens, Alec doesn¡¯t stand a chance of winning. Miss Levy and Bahamut munched on the served food without saying a word. Alec, Marle, and I sent suspicious gazes at it. Marielle viewed the steak while drooling for a slightly different reason. ¡°Ooh, what flavor! Such a simple flavor, and plenty chewy; this is good meat. And this salad with its sour fruit is refreshingly delicious.¡± ¡°I am glad it meets your tastes.¡± ¡°By the way, what meat is this?¡± ¡°Some komodo dragon we hunted in the labyrinth.¡± ¡°Buffuoo?!¡± Bahamut spit the meat he had in his mouth out. That¡¯s filthy. By the way, komodo dragons are a type of low rank dragon. Their wings have degenerated, so they look like giant lizards. They¡¯re low rank, so we can relax knowing it shouldn¡¯t give immortality like Fafnir. ¡°Y-you knowingly gave me, the dragon king¡­¡± ¡°While we¡¯re on the topic, the salad has snake strawberries on it.¡± ¡°Geffuu?!¡± In my previous world, snake strawberries meant ¡®strawberries that grow where there are snakes,¡¯ but in this world, snake strawberries are ¡®strawberries that snakes would die from if they ate them¡¯. Though those are both just folklore; there¡¯s no snakes where they grow, and they won¡¯t die by eating them. They have some strong acidity, and give just a slight tingling sensation. They are eaten as a child¡¯s snack. ¡°It would seem I really need to settle things with you at some point¡­¡± ¡°Bring it on. I¡¯ll show you my power after training in the labyrinth.¡± Fufufufufu¡­ They both laughed with disturbing smiles on their faces. Well in any case, that¡¯s how we got a new piece of equipment. ¡­ Which is useless of course. Chapter 99: Hidden Room Chapter 99: Hidden Room Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The search that day truly went favorably. Any user of the axe, ¡°Agni Blaze,¡± will be burned by it, so we left it at the house. I would like to quickly find a way to deal with it, and put it to practical use. Outside the city, our legs carried us about 30 minutes out to have Yig fly us up to the 812th floor. And then we used the golem creation spell I learned from the guild to blast our way up to the 921st floor. After dashing through about 100 floors in roughly 3 hours, we once again returned to the front lines. Of course we ran into monsters along the way a bunch of times, but uhh¡­ ¡°Jumping out in front of a golem running at more than 40 kilometers per hour is just¡­ Stupid.¡± I saw a poison mold¡­ In other words a gigantic moving mold, jump out in front of the steel-made golem, only to be splattered everywhere, and muttered that. They¡¯re practically the weakest kind of monster on this layer, but they don¡¯t feel pain, they¡¯re poisonous, and they won¡¯t stop moving unless you cut deep enough, making them fairly difficult to deal with. Normally we would fry them with magic or mince them up, but right now they were being smashed to pieces by the impact of colliding with the golem. Combined with our weight in the riding area, it was probably a pretty heavy crash. With those things happening along the way, we returned to the front lines just past noon. First I sent the special-made, [Toughness] applied carriage back to the basement, and maintained the golem as is. Being tough and solid, the golem is useful as a reserve on the vanguard, and the amount of magic put into its creation will last it for a whole day. By the way, its design is based on the White Devil of the Federation¡­ Err, actually no, I went in the ¡°That¡¯s the Gogg for ya. Didn¡¯t do a thing!¡± direction. I couldn¡¯t make the finer details, so I was crying a lot about that. ¡°Let¡¯s make clearing this layer our goal for today. Marle, head to the back right away if you notice anything, like usual.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Marle¡¯s role in searching for enemies and traps requires that she be in a dangerous position at the very front. The golem is also perfect for the role as her guard. Our front-liners are the golem, Marle, and Alec. Behind them are me and Marielle. And at the end of the line are Miss Levy and Haster, in the all-purpose positions. After setting up our formation I search our surroundings with [Sonar]¡­ Oh? ¡°Haster, the floor about 50 meters ahead of us looks like it¡¯s going to cave in.¡± ¡°A pitfall from the get-go, huh. Sure are a lot of traps past the 900th floor.¡± ¡°No, actually it¡¯s strange that it hasn¡¯t opened up yet, isn¡¯t it?¡± It was unnatural that a trap placed in such a blatant position near the stairs wouldn¡¯t have been activated by the Demon Lord party ahead of us. ¡°Did they manage to avoid it¡­?¡± Traces of traps set up like this being activated and crushed were all over the place. So it was discomforting that this one was still live. We moved up to the trap, where Marle and Miss Levy investigated the pitfall¡¯s surroundings just in case. ¡°Well ain¡¯t this odd?¡± ¡°It is strange.¡± ¡°What is?¡± I couldn¡¯t wait any longer as they puzzled over it, and asked. While they were investigating I activated [Sonar] again to check for enemies. Neither [Olfactory Enhancement], nor [Sonar] reacted to anything. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a pitfall?¡± ¡°Sure ain¡¯t. Definitely hollow below it, but there ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ built to open the floor up¡­ Actually, the pitfall¡¯s all locked tight.¡± ¡°Is there some roundabout path that will get us down there?¡± ¡°Well there¡¯s some chance o¡¯ that, but¡­ That were the case, then there wouldn¡¯t be much point for the pitfall to be here.¡± ¡°The trap itself is there?¡± ¡°Nothin¡¯ to activate it, but it¡¯s there all right.¡± This really is strange, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s a trap door here, but it¡¯s not functional. Since it¡¯s not functional, the Demon Lord¡¯s group probably passed through without activating it, but¡­ ¡°What if the Demon Lord¡¯s group disabled it¡­?¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t be. Ain¡¯t no traces o¡¯ that kinda work around the trap.¡± ¡°Actually¡­ Might this be a hidden room?¡± Hum? Normally hidden rooms would be in the walls to the left or right, and yet¡­ I see, so they can be under the ground too. ¡°Then how about we activate the trap and take a peek down below?¡± ¡°Should be fine as long as we don¡¯t fall.¡± ¡°Roger that. I¡¯ll have this done in a jiffy..¡± Dismantling traps is Miss Levy¡¯s area of expertise. She found the tiny grooves in the floor, blew away the dust, and shortly after inserting a tool in that groove¡­ Kachink! With a surprisingly heavy sound, the trap door was functioning. ¡°Alrighty, the fastener holdin¡¯ the trap door in place has been removed.¡± ¡°We want to open it up; how should we do that?¡± ¡°Well it¡¯ll open up if ya get on top of it, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, and fall in?!¡± W-well¡­ She does tend to be pretty sloppy. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to handle this. We still need Yuuri¡¯s golem, so I¡¯ll make something small and have it go on there I suppose.¡± ¡°All yours, Haster.¡± This party has four people who can use magic. Which means, if the situation called for it, we could create a lineup of four golems to handle the front lines. Of course, with the overflowing magic power I have, I could easily create ten of them. But, being incapable of autonomous movement, ordering golems around is extremely difficult. Putting it in more concrete terms, they can¡¯t read the situation. If I order two golems ¡°Protect Marle,¡± then they would both go and protect her. There was one time when there were two out, and I ordered ¡°Put Marle on your shoulder.¡± That started a competition between the two, with Marle becoming a ¡°judge¡± of sorts. At that time she screamed, ¡°Fumimya?!¡±¡ªwhich was a charming sound as a woman, but seemed like a sound humans aren¡¯t supposed to make¡ªas her shoulders were dislocated. Moreover I was seriously wrung out by Alec and Haster after that. In Haster¡¯s case I mean that in a moisture sense. With my eyes looking dead as I recalled being tortured until I was dripping in bodily fluids in the past, he completed the golem. Made from tree branches, it¡¯s the lightest and weakest type of golem. If we¡¯re just disposing of it, then it¡¯s good enough. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m sending it over; everyone step back a bit.¡± We all back away to keep from being caught up in it, and the small golem got on the trap door. The pitfall flung open, the golem dropped, and it hit the floor before scattering to pieces. Peeking inside, I guess the hole goes down about 10 meters? In there was also what appeared to be a side tunnel, so it seems we were right in thinking this was a hidden room. ¡°Is this where the ceiling of the floor below us got lower?¡± ¡°Floor 920 undulated all over between high and low, so it probably is.¡± It doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s any spike traps or anything installed on the floor. Just in case, I used [Sonar] to try searching the floor, but there was no trap-like response. ¡°There appear to be no traps. Shall we try going down?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I guess so¡­¡± He¡¯s probably worried about our distance from the Demon Lord. We¡¯ve passed floor 920 and are already in the last spurt. We¡¯ll want to hurry forward as much as possible at this point, to close the gap. However, we don¡¯t have the means of dealing with him when we do catch up just yet. ¡°There could be a useful item in there, so we may as well go take a peek.¡± With his judgment made, we began preparations for the descent. If it¡¯s only 10 meters, then the rope we have will be enough to get down, and Haster and I have flight magic. First Haster used [Flight], held Marle, and dropped down to the floor¡­. Hrmm, aren¡¯t his hands moving kind of lewdly? When I gave voice to my concerns, he denied it in a hurry. ¡°Th-that¡¯s not what it is, okay? She¡¯s gotten heavier, so I was just getting a better hold¡­¡± ¡°I am not heavy, Mister Haster!¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean you¡¯re fat or anything¡­¡± ¡°Marle, why might you have emphasized the ¡°I¡± just then?! It sounds like you are trying to make suggestions about other people!¡± ¡°Cheatin¡¯ ain¡¯t nooo good.¡± Miss Levy happily jumped in to stir things up. Alec glared. Well, since he ¡°held¡± another woman, I¡¯ll give him plenty of punishment at night. He can stroke me all over as much as he likes. Once we relieved the tension for a moment, the basement(?) search began. The rope wouldn¡¯t support the golem, so it was left in the upper floor. Further in the side tunnel of the basement was a door, and beyond that appeared to be a large hollow. ¡°Sure ¡®nough, it¡¯s a hidden room.¡± ¡°Yuuri, what¡¯s [Sonar] telling you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure in any detail, but it looks like there¡¯s an over 10 meter hollow area. [Olfactory Enhancement] isn¡¯t picking up anything alive either.¡± ¡°There don¡¯t appear to be any traps, and it¡¯s not locked.¡± ¡°Alec, get ready for battle just in case?¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Haster and Miss Levy moved to the front, and Marle took care of opening the door in front of them. There was no light in the room, giving us no visibility, so when we sent a [Light Ball] forward, it revealed to us a round hall with 10 meters in each direction. Two suits of armor stood in the center of the room, with a pedestal set between them. Placed on the pedestal was a solitary mask. The mask¡¯s design is a¡­ Hannya? Anyway, we didn¡¯t get any closer to the armors, and first used [Sonar] to check for traps. ¡°No traps in the room. However, there¡¯s a strong magic reaction in the center.¡± ¡°I feel it too.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t feel it though?¡± ¡°Me either.¡± ¡°Leaving aside the magically dry couple over there¡­ Those armors are clearly a trap.¡± I used ¡°Appraisal¡± in front of me to get a judgment on the armor. It showed they were High Enchant Living Mail. The enhanced version of living mail. And the mask in the middle is called ¡°Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask,¡± a seemingly half-cursed item. ¡°The armors are high enchant living mail. They¡¯re stronger living mail, so they¡¯ll be pretty tough. The mask is called ¡°Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask¡±. It can¡¯t be taken off, but at the same time it grants its wearer powerful regenerative abilities.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s a cursed item.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a little curse like that to me? I could dispel it easily enough.¡± ¡°You sure are convenient, sis.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about me like I¡¯m an item!¡± ¡°Now then, what to do¡­¡± If we get close, then the armors will start moving. I could tell that from ¡°Appraisal¡± too. ¡°Can¡¯t we just ignore an item like that?¡± ¡°We¡¯re fine, but for those of us without ¡°Immortality,¡± that ¡®strong regeneration¡¯ ability would be valuable.¡± ¡°But come on, don¡¯t we have Marielle with us?¡± ¡°HOOOHOHOHO! Feel free to rely on me more, yes?¡± ¡°Mary, keep quiet.¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± Marle easily calmed Marielle out of her ecstatic mode. She¡¯s practically a Marielle tamer at this point. Come to think of it, Alec¡¯s been disciplined too¡­ ¡°And what do we do if Marielle gets injured? If she takes an injury severe enough that she can¡¯t get to us anymore, this mask will come in handy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ True.¡± Assuring the healer¡¯s survival has to be the highest priority problem to take care of within the labyrinth. ¡°If it¡¯ll be useful for Marielle, then let¡¯s hurry and go grab it!¡± ¡°You know how strong those living mail are? They¡¯re several steps up from the one the Demon Lord brought with him.¡± ¡°Then they¡¯ll be a perfect test for us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good point¡­ It¡¯s been five years since then. How about we check just how much stronger we¡¯ve gotten.¡± They¡¯re talking about measuring their strength, and yet¡­ If I¡¯m not mistaken, that living mail was taken out by one swing of Cleaver? We still don¡¯t know exactly how strong that original comparison target is though. Well, I fully support the goal of securing Marielle¡¯s safety anyway¡­ I guess¡­ I could take one down! Chapter 100: Living Mail Chapter 100: Living Mail Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: We have finally reached chapter 100. I had assumed I would only write about this many you know¡­? --------------------------------------------------------------- As we approached the mask, sure enough the armor moved. This is what we expected. They wordlessly glared at us¡­ And the battle began. The curtain opened with Haster¡¯s magic. He used [Wind Dusting]. His main attack, creating a myriad of tiny [Wind Blades] to create pressure differences to multiply their power several times over. But even with that magic, it was ineffective against the living mail. They¡¯re hard enough that they could be enchanted with [Toughness]. The follow-up [Ice Sword] attack from Marielle was similarly repelled. ¡°They¡¯re solid, be careful!¡± Taking that in, Miss Levy and Alec ran in to continue the attack. Miss Levy slashed at them six times in a single breath with her magic swords. With their magic power enchantments, we finally managed to put a scratch on them. ¡°Owowow¡­ That there¡¯s too solid.¡± ¡°Get down!¡± With her movements dulled by the pain in her arms, Alec shouted over to her, and started a side swing with Gram. Just as it having the name of a holy sword would suggest, it¡¯s both hard and sharp. He took it with both hands, and put all the strength of his body into a full swing. Normally it wouldn¡¯t be unusual for this to cut it clean in two, but it was stopped just the same. They¡¯re unreasonably strong against physical attacks. ¡°In that case¡­¡± Two enemies. One of them is already wrapped up with taking Alec and Miss Levy¡¯s slashes. Probably can¡¯t fire off a strong effect and high power magic over here. Haster is moving toward the remaining one right now. I sniped at that one. I used a [Heat Ball]. However, I compacted all its heat into a small effective range. After sending all my magic power in to raise the heat as much as possible, I sent it flying like an arrow to collide with the living mail. With sizzling sounds, it burned the shield and melted the armor¡­ It didn¡¯t go enough to penetrate, but it was successful at inflicting heavy damage. ¡°It looks like hitting it directly with magic power is effective.¡± Both Haster and Marielle used magic that causes a phenomenon and then secondarily uses that phenomenon to physically inflict damage. ¡°Haster! Marielle! Magic that directly hits it with magic power!¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°I-I thought as much¡­ Hohoho.¡± ¡°Mary, don¡¯t bluff.¡± ¡°Urk, very well.¡± While this exchange was happening, Haster had completely entered close quarters combat range. One of them slashed at Miss Levy, but her dodging abilities are far above those of an ordinary person. She handled the attack with room to spare. The remaining one cut toward Haster, but he used his footwork to dodge the sword, and closed in to deliver a counterattack. ¡°Physical damage really isn¡¯t going to work, huh.¡± This is making me want to see the physical power of the Demon Lord match up against these. As I thought about that, Marle threw a water bag at the feet of the living mail Alec was facing. Water scattered everywhere from the impact. Marielle used that to cast [Viscous], turning the water into a slimy substance to hold its leg. Unlike [Freeze], which would turn it completely solid, the sticky substance coils about to unfailingly obstruct movement. ¡°When did you two come up with that little combination¡­?¡± ¡°I was just thinking about how I could be helpful in battle too.¡± Tehe, Marle stuck out her tongue and smiled. It¡¯s an adorable gesture, but the thought process here is pretty vicious. Having its leg suddenly immobilized mid-battle, the living mail¡¯s posture broke. The remaining leg was swept by Alec. Once it fell to the ground on its back, Alec shoved his sword into a gap in its right arm. ¡°Sis, left arm!¡± I understood Alec¡¯s intentions when he said that. I fired a [Heat Ball] at the armor¡¯s left arm, and ended up completely melting it. With its right arm pierced through, and its left arm lost, the living mail no longer had a chance at recovering. It would probably have a hard time even getting back up. Miss Levy should be able to skewer it as much as she wants now. One left. ¡°Uraaaaah!¡± When I looked over there, Haster had done a one-armed shoulder throw on it, and got on top of it to beat the living out of it. It was a mount position. With its arms held down by his knees and the middle of its chest gouged out, its operations became obstructed, and it could no longer knock him away. That makes the match settled on this end too. Now we just need to take our time burning it while he holds it down for complete victory. ~*~ ¡°Good work everyone. That was a workout.¡± ¡°Whew, they were solid. Not sure what I¡¯d do if my delicate little fingers done got hurt.¡± ¡°That was some nice support, Marle.¡± ¡°Mary helped too you know?¡± ¡°Hooohohoho, keep the compliments coming.¡± Everyone must have lost all focus once the battle ended, as they began chatting as much as they wanted. I left them behind to take the mask. Before being relieved, there¡¯s something I was curious about. I knew simply holding the mask wouldn¡¯t activate its ¡°curse¡± from when I ¡°Appraised¡± it, so there was no problem with that. Analyzing the details revealed that there were two enchant slots remaining, but¡­ Hmm? ¡°Yuuri, how¡¯s it look?¡± ¡°I think I should be able to remove the curse without any problems. Even if I remove it, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems.¡± ¡°Which means it can be an emergency means of recovery.¡± ¡°Yeah, well the only one who will probably need it is Marielle though.¡± ¡°However¡­ I am no fan of the design. Could it not be replicated on a different mask?¡± If she wore the mask, that would certainly bring about the birth of the Blonde Curled-Hair Hannya. That¡¯s far too chaotic an image. ¡°Hmmm¡­ With this ¡°curse¡± in the way¡­ I think replicating it would be a little difficult.¡± ¡°W-well I sacrifices must be made in situations like this, so let¡¯s just put up with it.¡± ¡°Is it really such a bad design? It¡¯s got a certain charm to it when you take a good look, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Marle, I can¡¯t agree with your sense of taste.¡± This is charming? Yeah, no. I feel sorry for her sensibilities. ¡°There was something you were wondering about with this, Yuuri?¡± ¡°Yeah, well¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll figure it out unless I put some serious research into it.¡± ¡°Sis, what about this armor? Is there anything we can use it for?¡± Hrm, right, if we could make armor with as much defensive power as this, then would we be able to take a hit from the Demon Lord? ¡°Ooh, not a bad thought coming from you, Alec. I grant you a compliment.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with the condescending attitude?¡± One of their chest pieces are completely melted away, so I guess it can¡¯t really serve as a reference, huh? The other one was slashed up by Miss Levy, but if I just complete the slashed portions of the magic circle, then I should be able to analyze¡­ ¡°This isn¡¯t [Toughness], is it?¡± ¡°Hn? Oh, really ain¡¯t.¡± ¡°This is¡­ Something I haven¡¯t seen before.¡± A magic circle that Haster has never seen? That¡¯s a harvest in a different sense. Tracing the flow of magic power, I guess at the spell¡¯s effect. ¡°Hmm, the magic power is guided from here to over here¡­ Huh? There¡¯s no formula to preserve the material¡¯s strength?¡± ¡°And it was still that hard?¡± ¡°Yeah, this is something else¡­ Something without any kind of strengthening or bonding formula, and it¡¯s still that hard because¡­ Wha? Could this be some kind of time stasis?¡± ¡°Time stasis?!¡± If the object gets fixed in place at the moment the circle is carved in, then it would certainly make it impossible to destroy with physical attacks. Destructive power is the result of an impact propagating through space over time. If time is disconnected from it, then the impact will simply be cut off at that moment. ¡°Then what, if we put this armor on, then we get eternal youth like sis has?¡± ¡°Not quite. The circle is only carved into the armor. It can only grant its influence to the armor itself.¡± ¡°Then what happens if we carve it into our own bodies?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Probably not a good idea. A human body having its time stopped is the same as saying it¡¯s dead.¡± It would probably stop synapses in the brain from firing, and stop the heart as well. In which case they wouldn¡¯t be alive any more. Maybe it could be used like cold sleep though? ¡°It might come in handy for people with incurable diseases, at which point we could ¡®entrust the treatment all to the future¡¯.¡± ¡°Such things would simply take my handling of them¡­ And besides, I have heard the World Tree can produce the miracle drug, ¡°Elixer,¡± which can cure any disease.¡± ¡°Marielle, how many people do you think can even make it this far?¡± ¡°I-I suppose you have a point.¡± Does this girl even realize she¡¯s already in the area of legends? It¡¯s friggin¡¯ floor 921! The only ones in history who made it this far are Bahamut, the Demon Lord, and us. ¡°Anyway, about this armor. Though the effect extends to the connected parts, the main portion is the chest piece¡­ If we just take this and process it, we can probably make use of it.¡± ¡°Can you replicate the spell formula?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Probably not going to happen. I don¡¯t know anything about this unbelievable technique of [Time Suspension] myself.¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t know what¡¯ll happen if you make a poor imitation?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± It would be pretty awful if I try to replicate it with my limited knowledge of it and cause it to ¡®confer the time suspension to the wearer¡¯ of the armor or anything like that. ¡°Kind of a waste that we destroyed one of them¡­¡± ¡°Well, not much we can do now. Getting one of them is already plenty good enough.¡± In truth I wanted to take it back and research it to put it into some practical realization though. ¡°Well then, this chest piece¡­ Size-wise it would fit Alec or Haster I suppose?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got my dragon scale, so I don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°Anything that makes it harder to move is going to give me a disadvantage in close combat.¡± ¡°Then, Miss Levy¡­¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t takin¡¯ somethin¡¯ that heavy.¡± Miss Levy¡¯s emphasis on speed and Haster¡¯s use of close combat make it so they can¡¯t effectively use this chest armor. Even so, it would be a total waste to leave something with so much defensive power aside. ¡°M-Marle¡­¡± ¡°It looks like it¡¯ll get in the way when I¡¯m searching for traps¡­ I¡¯ll pass.¡± It certainly wouldn¡¯t be good for our main scout to have her searching ability drop. ¡°Why don¡¯t you wear it, Yuuri?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to even walk wearing something like this?¡± The chest plate alone is practically 5 kilograms you know? That¡¯s a sixth of my body weight. Not gonna happen. By process of elimination, Marielle ended up being chosen to wear it. ~*~ ¡°Owowow! They¡¯re being crushed, you¡¯re going to crush them!¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine by me! Flatten! Disappear, goddammit!¡± ¡°Mary, stop struggling! Come on, this is why I keep telling you to exercise more.¡± ¡°What could possibly be harder exercise than searching the labyrinth?!¡± For now we fixed it in place with a rope to tailor a simple breastplate together, but¡­ A single important problem came to light. Her breasts. The armor is designed for a male body, so the chest portion doesn¡¯t match at all. Moreover, Marielle has useless¡­ Yeah, pointlessly huge breasts. And so, while crying bitter tears, I was squeezing her into the chest armor, and trying to fix it in place. The men couldn¡¯t very well participate, and Miss Levy was busy holding her belly and laughing while she watched us. ¡°Help us out already, Miss Levy!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ Jus¡¯ can¡¯t¡­ Stomach¡¯s hurtin¡¯ it¡¯s so funny! Ahahahaha!¡± I can hardly blame her for laughing. With everything complete she became a blonde, curly haired, hannya masked, side-boob breastplate-ed, hard to really put into words, thing. A later story: When we got back to town, the guards made a huge fuss about a monster appearing. Marielle couldn¡¯t leave her room for the whole break day. Chapter 101: The Last Day Off Chapter 101: The Last Day Off Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations One month since our battle with the armor. We ran through 30 floors and made it to floor 951. That included 6 boss battles. I wonder how far Demon Lord Masayoshi has climbed? Or maybe he lost? ¡­ Yeah, probably not. There was a part of us that wanted to recklessly continue onward, but if we panic at this point, then all our efforts could be for naught. Our water from the World Tree¡¯s roots is depleted, and my fatigue is nearly at its limit too. Actually, is there something we can do about that particular point? Anyway, we also returned to the ground for a moment to gather information. This will probably be our last chance to relax. ¡°Hnngghaaaaah! Has it been a whole month¡­? The sun is so bright.¡± Haster stretched his back and he basked in the long-missed sunlight. The most obvious marker of a labyrinth explorer is, due to a lack of sunlight, all of them have less of a tan in direct proportion to their abilities. This makes a clear distinction from ordinary adventurers, enough so that magicians in particular are often mistaken as lanky youths. ¡°Welcome back. Glad to see you¡¯re all okay. How far did you get this time?¡± ¡°Thanks, we managed to cover 30 floors, so we¡¯re at floor 951 now.¡± ¡°30 floors! That¡¯s amazing¡­ At that rate you¡¯ll practically have the place conquered in just another month!¡± ¡°Well, looks like it¡¯s going to get tough from here on though.¡± ¡°And where did you hear¡­¡± ¡°Whoops, our source of information is a secret.¡± We¡¯ve become completely familiar with this guard¡­ His name is Mister Yaga by the way, and Alec was lightheartedly chatting away him. Excluding the Demon Lord and ourselves, the front lines are at floor 307. And among them, we who blazed through to the end game are being called living legends. ¡°So anyway, how are ¡°They¡± doing?¡± ¡°They returned here just about a week back. Said they¡¯d gotten to floor 970 at the time.¡± ¡°They added another 10 floors then.¡± We¡¯re on pace to reach the 980th floor in another month. By then they would be¡­ Based on estimates from the past, around floor 990?¡± ¡°We could just barely make it¡­ This¡¯ll be rough.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. If the World Tree¡¯s water just worked on me¡­¡± If my fatigue wasn¡¯t a problem, we could have increased our pace a bit. But ¡°Adaptability¡¯s¡± detoxification effect¡­ Wait, AHHH?! ¡°Damn it all¡­¡± ¡°Hm? What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°The ¡°Adaptability¡± gift can be disabled, can¡¯t it?!¡± ¡°¡­ Ah.¡± Since the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡± changes a person¡¯s body inside, ¡°Golden Ratio¡¯s¡± effect probably turns things back to normal. But with the ¡°World Tree¡¯s Water¡±, which only takes a person¡¯s fatigue away, it would simply turn my body ¡°back to normal,¡± so ¡°Golden Ratio¡± shouldn¡¯t cause any problems with it. In other words, at the end of adventuring for a day, if I just disable ¡°Adaptability¡± and drink the water, then by the next morning I would be completely refreshed. ¡°I see¡­ If we did that, then I guess we could have pushed ourselves a little more.¡± ¡°I am so sorry I didn¡¯t realize it until now.¡± In the first place I only realized the effects of the World Tree¡¯s water just recently, so it probably wouldn¡¯t have made a huge difference, but at this point that difference is going to make itself evident. ¡°Well, it¡¯s nothing to worry too much about. We would¡¯ve had to come back to the ground for information gathering and provisions anyway.¡± ¡°Sure¡­ I guess?¡± ¡°Besides, we can¡¯t do things like adjust our armor if we don¡¯t come back here, right?¡± Saying so, his gaze jumps over to Marielle. Following his line of sight, Mister Yaga looked in the same direction¡ª ¡°Bufuh! Pukhukuku¡­¡± And desperately held back his laughter. The blonde, curly haired hannya with pancaked breasts look certainly had impact. ¡°Shall I curse you¡­?¡± ¡°N-nah¡­ What is this, a monster?¡± ¡°Unfortunately it¡¯s Marielle.¡± ¡°What is unfortunate about that, Sir Haster?!¡± Marielle flared up at him. It was to the point where you could see the angry pouting sound effect written there. By the way, his and my real names have been officially announced to the guards and a portion of the guild. If we didn¡¯t do so, it seemed like the guild would try to prohibit us from chasing after the Demon Lord. The former Sage of Wind. The current Sage of Wind. The former One-Armed Heavy Swordsman. The former Phantom Thief, Livyatan. The Saint of Water (eventually). It would be no exaggeration to say our pursuit was allowed because we¡¯ve gathered together such people. Anyway, even the guard, Mister Yaga responded like this, so the reactions of the citizens could be easily guessed. Miss Levy and I took this opportunity to delight in the chaos all we wanted. ¡­ We did panic when the knights ran off saying ¡°A monster has appeared!¡± though. ~*~ And then the next day. As a test, I imbibed the ¡°World Tree¡¯s Water¡± without ¡°Adaptability,¡± and as a result my fatigue vanished like it was nothing. What was the point of all this fatigue up until now¡­ And so I ended up going out for some energetic activity in the afternoon. Eh? Why in the afternoon? Well we can¡¯t do it in the labyrinth, so Haster had been pretty backed-up. As such, I complied with a ¡°Well if you insist, come here?¡± and then¡­ Just guess! ¡°And so, even though you should have returned to top condition, you¡¯ve got bags under your eyes and you decided to come here? Are you an idiot?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t nag me about it. More importantly Miss Remy, how are ¡°their¡± movements going? I heard they¡¯re at floor 970.¡± Prepared at the guild counter was a personal use stool for me, from which I exchanged information with Miss Remy. She actually quite enjoyed seeing my face peek just a little bit out, so she objected to it until the very end, but I am bothersome. I also had other objectives here like selling off things picked up in the labyrinth and stuff. Miss Remy wrote things down in a notebook while appraising a heap of materials and artwork. ¡°Let¡¯s see, floor 971 right now. Looks like they safely took out the guardian.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve always been wondering this, but how do you know their position so accurately?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a little trick in the backpack I lent out to them. [Signal] lets me see their position.¡± It¡¯s not as if they haven¡¯t been doing anything either, but with their longer dives into the labyrinth, the number of items they gather is proportionally larger. As such the guild offered them a sturdy and lightweight backpack, which they are apparently carrying by golem or living mail. They¡¯re a very manual labor-focused group as usual. ¡°Isn¡¯t that kind of dangerous?¡± ¡°I told them it¡¯s for the safety of new entrants to the guild. So that we can send help over whenever it¡¯s needed. Not that there¡¯s any chance we could get to the 900th floor or higher.¡± She waved her hand as she cackled. There really aren¡¯t any adventurers who could get past the 900th floor aside from us. Our abilities are known throughout the guild, and even while we¡¯ve been talking here, other adventurers have been looking on from a distance. Seeing as we¡¯ve gone far past the top runners in these five years, we¡¯ve become pretty dang famous in this¡ª ¡°Hey brat, stop hogging the damn counter! This isn¡¯t some playground to hang out at!¡± ¡ªOr maybe not¡­? ¡°By ¡°brat,¡± do you mean me?¡± ¡°Oh, Yuuri, this guy is a rookie who just registered yesterday.¡± ¡°I see. If he¡¯s new then it¡¯s not unreasonable that he wouldn¡¯t know me.¡± ¡°Say what? You tryin¡¯ to talk big to this here future hero¡­¡± ¡°By the way, violence is totally prohibited inside the guild.¡± You don¡¯t plan on stopping that stale tone in your speech, do you Miss Remy? ¡°By the way, how was his registration test?¡± ¡°One week. Not a bad result actually.¡± A third of the average time. That¡¯s promising. Let¡¯s hold back so we don¡¯t crush him. That¡¯s what I thought as I descended from the stool. I am a woman who knows how to hold back. Even though I used to be a man. ¡°What are you still babbling about!¡± Upon shouting that, he made a huge swing of his fist down to me. It seems like he¡¯s holding back, but even so this is slow¡­ For someone who has studied diligently in the labyrinth, this would be one of those ¡°the fly is standing still¡± moments. I am part of the rear guard, but in preparation for emergencies I am learning a distinct way of handling myself on the front lines. [Body Reinforcement] is my trump card so we¡¯ll leave it aside, and instead use [Telekinesis] in a newly developed way. ¡ªBasically I just have to move myself with magic! His fists swing through the air. In response I use [Telekinesis] and flutter away from the attacks. ¡°Urp, I guess using this continuously makes me sick¡­¡± ¡°Yuuri, vomiting is totally prohibited inside the guild?¡± ¡°I know that, okay?!¡± ¡°Your spew has kind of a squid smell¡ª¡° ¡°Just. Shut. Up!¡± I sealed Miss Remy¡¯s continuous dirty jokes away with a few words, and then changed my dodging method. I¡¯m getting woozy because I¡¯m moving myself. So I¡¯ll just have to move him. And so I turned all his punches aside with [Telekinesis] until he was completely worn out. ¡°So, want to keep going?¡± ¡°Wh-what¡­ In the hell¡­ Are you?¡± ¡°You really are showing promise if you can still talk after moving that much. She¡¯s Yuuri Albine. One of the true top runners in the World Tree Labyrinth?¡± ¡°Wh-, a shrimp like this is?!¡± ¡°O.K., stay right there and let me pulverize you.¡± I am well aware that I am short, but being reminded of it by other people totally pisses me off. ¡°Yuuri, castration is totally prohibited inside the guild?¡± ¡°I have never seen a rule like that!¡± ¡°We made some new ones. Have a look.¡± She pointed to a paper stuck to the wall, and at the lower end of it¡­ Master Yuuri¡¯s violence is prohibited inside the guild. Master Yuuri¡¯s vomiting is prohibited inside the guild. Master Yuuri¡¯s castration is prohibited inside the guild. Were all added. Come to think of it, I recall once in the past when I aimed a crushing kick at the tender spot of an indiscreet individual who came and bothered me. I also remember spewing at the feeling of my kick crushing it. That¡¯s probably when those were added on. But¡­ ¡°I noticed you at least added a respectable title, but¡­ Why is it only limited to me?!¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re the only one who would do things like this. The guy who got crushed ended up excreting all over the place, and you spewed all over the place. The cleanup was pretty awful.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, okay?!¡± Even cleaning up after me was pushed on to her, so I have no excuse to give. While we were having that exchange, the expected newbie tucked his tail between his legs and ran. He¡¯s refreshingly adept when he¡¯s on the pulling away side. ¡°Ugh, I guess I let him get away.¡± ¡°Would you really have crushed them if he didn¡¯t run?¡± ¡°No way. I would have let him off with one.¡± ¡°Seriously could you please stop?¡± She was making small talk, but even then she¡¯s a pro. Her hands were busily moving, and it looks like she finished calculating the acquired products. ¡°So about business on this end. The total for the art and materials is over 800,000 gold coins, but¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I can carry that; deposit it please.¡± ¡°Suppose so, we can¡¯t prepare such a huge sum of money here anyway. Also, I can¡¯t really put a price on this equipment over here.¡± ¡°Can you sell it somewhere?¡± ¡°I have no doubt some dilettante will jump at it if we put it to auction. Plus some adventurers might want it enough to put up all their assets for it.¡± The things she couldn¡¯t put a value on were a long sword and spear with ¡°Persistent¡± [Reinforcement] on their blades. Plus a heavy shield and armor. I¡¯d like to make this ¡°Persistent¡± [Reinforcement] a thing some day. In any case, at present they¡¯re all heavy, so they¡¯re not suited to me, Marle, or Miss Levy. Haster and Alec have better stuff. Which means we have no use for it. We would just have to hoard it away in the basement, and in fact we already have tons of stuff hoarded down there. I wonder if those being sent off to auction is connected to the development in the economy? ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave the arrangements to you. With the commission fee at 2%.¡± ¡°That low?! At least give me 10%.¡± ¡°Then 2%.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t increase it! At least 8%.¡± For a long time after that, a fierce battle with her unfolded. In the end she¡¯ll be taking 6% of it. I thought I could get away with 5%, but Miss Remy is a tough opponent. Chapter 102: Miracle Cure Chapter 102: Miracle Cure Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: We once again jump a little bit in time. --------------------------------------------------------------- Another month has passed. We¡¯re arriving at floor 981. The Demon Lord and company are in the process of taking floor 990. We¡¯ve gotten within 10 floors of them. ¡°At this rate it looks like it¡¯s going to be quite the dead heat for this last leg.¡± ¡°We¡¯re climbing at about double their pace, so¡­ I guess we¡¯ll just barely face off with them around floor 1000?¡± ¡°Then maybe we all should be pickin¡¯ up the pace?¡± ¡°Going any faster than this is going to be putting a strain on Marle though¡­¡± Five among us each have our own appropriate gifts. But Marle doesn¡¯t have any gifts. She¡¯s climbed this high using her own individual effort alone. ¡°When you think about it that way¡­ I can only hang my head.¡± ¡°Hard to really say what a human¡¯s limits are, huh.¡± ¡°In a sense, Marle could be considered greater than any of us.¡± ¡°N-n-n-no, I am definitely not! Besides, I would just be baggage without all of you.¡± ¡°Your scouting and searching abilities are a lifeline for us. You should truly have more confidence in yourself.¡± We lifted high the self-deprecating girl. Well, if we lifted her any higher then she would fall down though. ¡°And so, Marle, time to put a little more effort in the scouting, yeah?¡± ¡°Fueee?!¡± ¡°Sis, are you a demon?¡± ¡°But we won¡¯t be able to get past them at this rate. This is when we need to brace ourselves. Sorry, but we¡¯re counting on you.¡± But there is certainly some congestion here. We are currently continuing our search with the golem pulling a rear car, filled with the fatigue recovering ¡°World Tree¡¯s Water¡±. Just in case, we put teleport magic circles on the water jugs in the house too. Plus, if we send the empty water jugs back, Bahamut is on standby at the house, where he¡¯s supposed to refill them. He¡¯s just eating our food, so this is the least he can do for us. Also our equipment went through various changes. We found appropriate armaments and the like from floor 920 through the next 60 floors, but we couldn¡¯t find much better than what we already have, so it¡¯s really just been modifications though. First off, about Marielle¡¯s ¡°Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask¡±¡­ She herself seriously didn¡¯t like it, so I¡¯m holding on to it now. I can¡¯t release the curse yet, but I¡¯ve taken the opportunity to add a few modifications. Discussion about this has already been completed with Marielle. Next up is Haster¡¯s ¡°Beast King¡¯s Claws¡±. This weapon¡¯s redeeming feature is, in exchange for not having much attack power, it is extremely sturdy. But I discovered that it was putting excessive strain on his wrists. That¡¯s when I decided to use the remains of the Water Vine Mantle to make gloves. They¡¯re enchanted with [Strength], so they have quite the shock buffering power to them. Lastly, in regards to Alec, to compensate for his weak point I¡¯ve prepared a different [Teleport] magic circle for him. He has a huge blind spot when it comes to magic, so it was a thought in dealing with that. However, I can only say that I honestly have no idea how effective it will be. Though I told him to give him some peace of mind¡­ Also, about our house, with all the increasing teleport magic circles, a floor of extension has been added to the basement. With the water, spare weapons, items, provisions, etc. each having their own teleport circles, it took up quite a bit of area. ~*~ ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°Did you find something?¡± ¡°Yeah, just past this corner is a [Teleporter] trap.¡± A teleporter trap is¡­ Well, the same thing as during our trip to the hot springs. We¡¯ve seen them countless times in this labyrinth. It is limited in that it can¡¯t activate if there isn¡¯t enough space on the other end for the transferred object, but we¡¯re 18,000 meters in the air. Space isn¡¯t a problem. Consequently, we have absolutely no idea whether the other end of the teleport is safe or not. By the way, the Demon Lord has been [Teleported] to the outside wall of the trunk about three times, and suffered through 10,000 meter ropeless bungee jumps. The vampire and lich, who can both fly, disappointingly did not die¡­ By the way, the Demon Lord also got through the damn thing without a scratch. Due to this event, a high altitude safety net was spread across the 100 meters surrounding the World Tree, the buildings in the area were removed, and it was a really big to-do. ¡°Where it goes¡­ Is something we can¡¯t really tell, huh¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Ignore it?¡± ¡°That would be wise.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s kind of weird. Like it¡¯s way too obvious¡­ Or it kind of feels like it was purposely put in a place where it would stand out.¡± Stand out¡­? I thought that [Teleport] could only be used as a trap, but¡­ ¡°It¡¯s possible that it¡¯s not a trap, but a variation on a passageway?¡± ¡°Maybe?¡± This is troubling¡­ If it¡¯s a standard teleporter that tosses you out of the labyrinth, then ignoring it is fine, but there¡¯s a possibility that it¡¯s not. Since there is the possibility of it throwing us out of the labyrinth¡­ Me, Haster, or Miss Levy could use [Flight] magic, so we would be fine even if that happens, but what to do. Even if one of us went ahead to scout it out, there¡¯s a possibility it will put us in a monster nest as a trap too. ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± ¡°When you think about it, the three members who can¡¯t fly are Alec, Marle, and Marielle. Which means there are three of us who can, and if we hold on to each other when we¡¯re teleported, then we¡¯ll be fine even if we¡¯re all thrown outside.¡± ¡°And if it¡¯s all of us, then we¡¯ll be fine even if it¡¯s a monster¡¯s nest?¡± ¡°We should able to deal with more than if one person goes ahead on reconnaissance.¡± ¡°Do we even need to know where it goes in the first place?¡± ¡°Well¡­ Maybe we don¡¯t, but maybe we do.¡± ¡°This is getting annoying; let¡¯s just go already.¡± A teleporter trap placed obviously just off of the main pathway. There was no attempt at hiding it, so if it was on the main path then the Demon Lord¡¯s group would probably have noticed it. Even if they did notice it, considered all the pain they¡¯ve gone through by them, there¡¯s a high possibility they would not have stepped on it. Just like with the Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask, an overlooked item could fall into our hands, so¡­ Guess I should get behind muscle-brained Alec on this one? ¡°Sitting here and worrying over it probably is wasting our time. I¡¯m putting my vote in taking a look, to make sure we have no regrets.¡± ¡°I guess so. Then in case we¡¯re tossed outside, everyone pair up with someone who can fly. Ahh, Mari¡ª¡° ¡°Haster, you¡¯re pairing with Alec!¡± ¡°¡­ Tsk.¡± This guy really does like big boobs, doesn¡¯t he? ¡°Marle, you¡¯re with me. I can¡¯t hold up someone who¡¯s too heavy, after all.¡± ¡°How rude! I am not heavy.¡± ¡°It would really piss me off to be smothered by those lumps of fat!¡± ¡°They are light precisely because they are fat!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, then that means Marielle is with Miss Levy. Let¡¯s get goiiing.¡± Anyway the only ones I can calmly touch are Alec and Marle, so by process of elimination this is how the pairings were going to end up. Haster and Alec had really disappointed looks on their faces¡­ Honestly you two¡­ ¡°That soft feeling every once in a while would¡­ Uh, no, it¡¯s nothing, never mind.¡± ¡°If Marle¡¯s no good, then at least Miss Levy¡­ Uh, never mind, nope.¡± ¡°Could it be you¡¯re bored of me? Is this that ¡°marriage fatigue¡± thing?!¡± ¡°No-not at all! I can do it any day any time with you, Yuuri! It¡¯s all OK.¡± ¡°Not in front of us, ya¡¯ll.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, let us be off you two.¡± ¡°For now Sir Alec and Mister Haster need some punishment.¡± After Marle gave the stupid boys a flick to their foreheads, we stepped onto the magic circle. Not that I don¡¯t get how they feel, but still¡­ ~*~ We were teleported to a pitch black hollow. I immediately activated [Light Ball] and illuminated the area. This kind of necessary magic with low consumption is my responsibility as the one with excessive magic power. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ Nothing here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not seeing any kind of traps or enemies.¡± ¡°A miss?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look a little more, just in case. Mary, keep a look out. And Yuuri, help me out.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± Marle had the ceiling and the floor illuminated, tapped on things with wooden sticks, and crawled on the ground to search the area. I joined in using [Sonar] to examine the structure of the floor and walls, then [Olfactory Enhancement] to find enemy smell¡ª ¡°Ugh?!¡± ¡°What happened?! Did you find something?¡± It was the first thing I noticed when sense of smell was enhanced, but¡­ What is this stinky smell? It¡¯s kind of like a really rich grassy smell¡­? ¡°There¡¯s a fierce grassy smell¡­ The smell too thick; I can pinpoint its source.¡± ¡°The aroma of plants certainly is strong here. Strong enough that I can tell even without [Olfactory Enhancement].¡± ¡°Grassy smell¡­ Ah, Yuuri, could that be it?¡± Where Marle pointed there were traces of sap oozing down a wall. Below that, where the flowing sap must have settled, a solid substance was¡­ I hastily ¡°Appraised¡± it to get an expert opinion. ¡ªMiracle Cure ¡°Elixer¡± World Tree sap that has pooled and solidified. By being solidified and turned into pills, a richer effect is achieved. It has the effect of healing any injury or illness. ¡°Uwhoa?!¡± If I didn¡¯t shout now, then when would I ever? After all, the legendary miracle cure, of all things, was sitting right here. I told everyone the results of my appraisal, and gave instructions to gather all of it. ¡°Seriously¡­?¡± ¡°No way, this is¡­?!¡± ¡°I feel my purpose in life being shaken.¡± If we brought this back with us, it¡¯s valuable enough that we could probably buy a country with it you know? Well, our assets are already at the level of a country¡¯s budget of course. Since floor 900, we¡¯ve been bringing legendary items one after the other back with us, and splitting them between us. So even Marle has some unbelievable wealth right now. ¡°We managed to collect¡­ Three?¡± ¡°That¡¯s plenty. With this, even a wound heavy enough to leave someone on deaths door can be healed in an instant. This will be a help in battle.¡± ¡°Who should carry it?¡± Alec¡¯s question made me a bit troubled. Haster and I have ¡°Immortality,¡± so we should be fine. Which means¡­ The front line? ¡°First, the ones of the front line who aren¡¯t ¡°Immortal,¡± Alec and Miss Levy. And then in the back, either Marielle or Marle, which would be safer?¡± ¡°I shall be quite fine. With this breastplate I will be able to avoid fatal wounds, and so long as I am alive I can heal myself with my own power.¡± Her breastplate was something made using the appropriated debris of the living mail with [Time Stasis] cast on it. With how it can completely block all physical interference, saying it has unmatched defensive powers would be no exaggeration. Only, pancaked by the armor, the breasts sticking out the sides are¡­ Kgh! ¡°Urggrr¡­ Yeah, then Marle, you should take it. Be sure not to mistake the timing on using it.¡± ¡°I-is that really okay? Something this amazing¡­?¡± ¡°What might that growl just now have been about exactly?¡± With the legendary class miracle cure in hand, she was in a clearly nervous state. Now we can create a situation where we basically have a second, though single use, Marielle. ¡°There was value in taking a detour.¡± ¡°It was a detour of about one hour. If it means we get this miracle cure, then that¡¯s fine.¡± I silently go through simulations to calculate how obtaining this miracle cure will change our battle with the Demon Lord. Unbreakable defensive power and unstoppable attack power¡­ We¡¯ll be challenging such an opponent, so I would prefer to have equivalent toughness on our side. Plus there¡¯s his two confidants and their protective living mail. ¡°It¡¯s great if this medicine supplements our toughness rank though¡­¡± ¡°Yuuri?¡± ¡°Oh, just going through some simulations for the Demon Lord fight.¡± ¡°Do we have a chance?¡± ¡°Secret.¡± I can¡¯t firmly declare that we do. I can¡¯t bring myself to say we don¡¯t. ¡°If we can at least separate his allies. That¡¯s all I will say.¡± ¡°Hum¡­ Well, we can probably manage that depending on the situation.¡± 9 floors away. It¡¯s time that we need to prepare ourselves for what¡¯s to come. --------------------------------------------------------------- Translator¡¯s Note: Fighting begins next chapter! Chapter 103: Vampire Chapter 103: Vampire Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: The second half switches to Haster¡¯s viewpoint. --------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Guooooooh!¡± Rumble, the floor groans as the beast sinks to the ground. The last moments of the floor 995 guardian, Behemoth. ¡°S-so¡­ Tired¡­¡± ¡°Good work, Sir Alec.¡± The moment it was defeated, Alec sat like his legs had given out, and Marle took care of him. But her voice was also thick with weariness. The Behemoth on floor 995 was solid, massive, and tenacious. With those three qualities together, it was an awful enemy. Plus its mental resistance value must have been high, as magic effects were practically reduced to nothing. When it came to electric magic, he was grounded and didn¡¯t take any damage from it. Even when [Heat Ball] or [Heat Strike] were used to melt through his hide, the sand blanketing the room would gradually be taken in to regenerate it. As a result, I was left mainly playing support with magic to keep it confined, while the three at the front pushed through until they were exhausted. ¡°Haa, I¡¯m not good with this type of mindless fighting method.¡± Just like Alec, Miss Levy and I had also tiredly sunk to the ground. Using large-scale magic continuously had depleted my extra tank of magic power prepared in my mantle by half. Miss Levy was using her magic swords, so her magic power had only been reduced a little bit, but her focus on speed over a prolonged battle must have put a big burden on her. ¡°To top it off, this jerk didn¡¯t give us a thing¡­ Could have at least had a treasure chest hidden away, you know.¡± ¡°Ya¡¯ll are surprisin¡¯ly greedy, Haster.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because we don¡¯t have time for any more detours. I want something in hand to make us stronger so badly I can taste it.¡± Two days since we obtained the Elixer. We haven¡¯t caught up with the Demon Lord and company yet. If the World Tree¡¯s bud is picked, then the whole World Tree will respond with a faint glow, so he should have gotten hold of it yet, but¡­ We probably don¡¯t have a moment to lose at this point. Since passing through the 800th floor, the labyrinth has been getting visibly narrower. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s because the trunk is getting thinner as we approach the top. Around when we passed floor 950, it had turned into a small-scale dungeon with only four rooms. At floor 995 it finally became just a boss room. Most likely from here on it the same; only a guardian¡¯s room. ¡°We also don¡¯t have any time to go back anymore. If all that¡¯s left is fights with guardians, then that would only help the Demon Lord¡¯s side.¡± If it¡¯s five consecutive boss fights starting here¡­ And we assume that they¡¯re going to be mythical-class beasts like Behemoth¡­ Then the advantage is with the Demon Lord¡¯s group. Because that means our side¡¯s advantage over the labyrinth¡¯s traps and winding paths is gone. Even so, the battles being exhausting still remains true. That¡¯s where we have the ¡°World Tree¡¯s Water¡± to shorten things, so we¡¯re still not at a complete disadvantage. ¡°After a quick break, let¡¯s head to the next floor. We¡¯re gonna bust through this labyrinth today. We could meet them at any time, so make sure you¡¯re ready for that, got it?¡± ¡°Sure thang. We¡¯ll be beatin¡¯ them to bits this time.¡± ¡°Time to return the favor. And we¡¯ll have them return Sentinel while we¡¯re at it.¡± ¡°The time to avenge Alma is finally¡­¡± ¡°Mary, calm down. Don¡¯t forget the plan, okay?¡± ¡°I shall not forget.¡± I thought up several countermeasures for when we meet with them. A little chat here is about all the rest time we have. Think of the plan, prepare for accidents, and even then consider how to deal with the worst case scenario. Thanks to that, it¡¯s safe to say we¡¯re maintaining our high spirits at their peak levels. Like an army right before beginning their maneuvers. ¡°10 minute break. Drink your ¡°Water¡± in that time. After that we¡¯re heading straight to the next floor.¡± ¡°Right!¡± We replied with full force. And then 10 minutes later¡­ We met that woman again. ~*~ Floor 996. Amid the pitch darkness, that woman stood alone. The guardian didn¡¯t appear when we entered the room, probably because she already defeated it. The [Light Ball] I was maintaining illuminated¡­ The vampire. The one who trifled with me so much five years ago. ¡°My oh my, hasn¡¯t it only been about 10 minutes since the ruckus down stairs? You don¡¯t seem as exhausted as I expected, do you?¡± ¡°Are you alone?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make such a scary face, boy. And my name is Claudia.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m asking if you¡¯re alone.¡± Haster was taking a completely cautious stance. Alec and Miss Levy too, of course. ¡°What a turn off¡­ Yes, I am alone. I¡¯ve been waiting to hold you all back here.¡± ¡°You noticed we were chasing after you¡­?¡± ¡°With all those incessant clanging sounds you were making, how could we not?¡± Looks like [Sonar¡¯s] downside echoed all the way up here. It¡¯s an vital characteristic of any technique for listening to reverberations, so there¡¯s no helping that really. Maybe it would have been better to adjust it so the sound was outside human hearing, like a bat, but¡­ Time wasn¡¯t on our side. ¡°I thought it strange that anyone would be chasing after us, but if it¡¯s all of you then I get it. So you didn¡¯t die. And how many of you still look the same¡­?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t exactly changed either. So, about how far ahead are Masayoshi and the rest?¡± ¡°Hmmm, are there really humans like that? And normally I would say I have no obligation to tell you where his majesty is, but¡­ Let¡¯s see, we parted about two floors ahead.¡± ¡°Floor 998¡­ Quite the service you¡¯re giving us?¡± ¡°I mean, I¡¯m going to kill you all here anyway. What¡¯s the problem in telling you?¡± Her luxurious blonde hair and voluptuous body shook as she giggled. The special characteristic of the vampire race¡ªthat, while bewitching, their presence also instills terror and trembling¡ªdrifted toward us. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to hold us all back by yourself with how we are now.¡± If we all take her at once, we should be able to suppress her in a short time¡­! ¡°Of course, it¡¯s probably impossible. But with just that time, his majesty will obtain ¡°Immortality,¡± you see? Besides, I¡¯m a vampire. Tenacity is one of our perks.¡± With a broad grin, she sent a testing look our way. In other words this is one of those things? One of those situations where one of us faces her and the rest of us head onward? Her expression is because she¡¯s testing us to see if we can leave one of our companions behind? ¡°Fine then, I¡¯ll play your little game. This one is mine.¡± ¡°Haster?!¡± We must have come to the same conclusion, but why are you the one staying behind?! ¡°According to your plans, Yuuri, I was supposed to do something about her, right? That means my staying here should be the optimal choice.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Luckily they decided to split themselves up for us. We can¡¯t exactly decline the offer.¡± ¡°Ugh, but¡­ Ahh~uu~¡­ Don¡¯t die. Please?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to ¡°die,¡± right? I¡¯ll be fine; hurry on ahead.¡± ¡°Master¡­ We¡¯re counting on you.¡± ¡°Right back at you; I¡¯m leaving Yuuri to you.¡± And so we left Haster, circled around Claudia, and ascended the staircase. ~*~ (Haster¡¯s perspective) ¡°How brave of you to stay behind, eh boy? Your face isn¡¯t too bad either. If you want, why don¡¯t I make you part of my clan?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in older women.¡± She looked shocked at my statement. And then she soon looked convinced. ¡°My, how rude. Then might you be interested in little girls? Come to think of it, you did say that little lady was your wife before.¡± ¡°Of course I don¡¯t like kids. I only like ¡°Yuuri¡± alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she would be happy if you told her that directly.¡± ¡°I do tell her. Every night, many times, over and over.¡± I say it honestly, but lately I feel like she¡¯s only taking it as a set phrase of mine. Maybe for women I need to put it not just into words, but into presents too? ¡°Oh? Then I suppose you¡¯ll have no regrets.¡± ¡°Guess not. Don¡¯t you have any last words?¡± ¡°My, I plan on winning, you know.¡± She expressed surprise from the bottom of her heart. Her expression was one of complete belief in her own victory. That could give way to some chinks in her armor to take advantage of. Yuuri did say ¡°Self-conceit; don¡¯t do it. Ever.¡± after all. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t plan on falling behind some vampire either.¡± ¡°How truly regrettable. You have guts and a pretty face. I know, maybe it¡¯ll be fun If I forcefully pin you down and make you become part of my clan?¡± Ahh, is this bad? I have ¡°Immortality,¡± but is that going to negate being turned into a vampire¡¯s minion? Naturally, we couldn¡¯t exactly make a test out of that. ¡°You can say that after you¡¯ve won.¡± In short¡­ This has become one of those fights I haven¡¯t had in a while; a fight I can¡¯t afford to lose. I prepared myself for what was to come, and danced toward the vampire. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I shouted loudly and took a big step forward. A very clear cue for the fight to start. Reacting to my call, the vampire sunk into the shadows. It was exactly the response I expected. Next the vampire will¡ª ¡°There!¡± Firmly protecting my neck with my right arm, I swung my left arm widely behind me. Perhaps it¡¯s just in the vampire¡¯s nature; when she sinks into the shadows, she always [Teleports] to the rear on the left side. She probably does it so she can bite at an artery, but there¡¯s no reason I would let her get me with such a transparent surprise attack. Because she bit into the Beast King¡¯s Claw on my right arm, she wasn¡¯t able to move from there, and took a perfect hit from the swinging left arm¡¯s attack. There¡¯s heavy feedback, and a crack. Followed by her being blown back and taking some distance. ¡°Now you¡¯ve done it¡­ You brat!¡± The Beast King¡¯s Claw took a big chunk out of her abdomen, but it stopped up while I was looking at it. This must be a vampire¡¯s regenerative abilities. She had the initiative taken; not only was her surprise attack blocked, but she took a counter attack too. The disgrace must have hurt her pride. Her bewitching good looks collapsed into a visage mad enough that it wouldn¡¯t lose to the Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask. ¡°Hah, so that¡¯s your real nature. My wife stays cute no matter what predicament she¡¯s in, you know?¡± ¡°Prattle!¡± ¡°Your immediate reaction to provocation is just like your owner¡¯s.¡± ¡°You would insult his majesty, you beaten dog?!¡± ¡°¡ªI¡¯ll make sure you realize that even a beaten dog still has fangs.¡± A beaten dog¡ªThat thought has been tormenting me ever since our loss five years ago. It¡¯s the last thing anyone should say to me right now. My blood boiled for a moment, but I quickly composed myself. She made fun of Yuuri before, and because of that my composure had already been chipped away at, after all. I replied in a voice brimming with more murderous intent than I could let Yuuri hear, and began my counter attack. The physical and magical powers of a vampire are way above and beyond the order of magnitude for a typical human. If it turns into a exchanging big shots of magic, then even with the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡± and ¡°Heart¡± I still can¡¯t deny that I would be at a disadvantage. ¡°Die, you brat!¡± ¡°But I refuse!¡± While speaking a line often used by Yuuri, I block the vampire¡¯s claws. I put my whole arm against the heavy blow, and just managed to turn it away. ¡ªSo it¡¯s barely within what I can deal with? My opponent¡¯s attack slid away, sending her off-balance for a counter. This was already clear, but she didn¡¯t care in the slightest, and swung her other claw toward me in succession. She must have a lot of confidence in her regenerative vampire abilities. I used the momentum of my opponent¡¯s attack, and threw her. She struck the ground, and I delivered a blow to her face. ¡°Gahah?!¡± With her cheek shaved away, I drove a kick into her where she was thrown. Her flesh had been gouged out, but it doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s actually damaging her. But if I keep up the attack, then my opponent should get exhausted too. The vampire bounced and rolled along the ground like a ball, getting covered in dust. If it¡¯s close quarters combat, then I can redirect her power; there are any number of methods for attack. If it¡¯s a battle of endurance, then I just need to maintain this distance¡­ ¡°Oh sh¡ª?!¡± That¡¯s when I looked at our distance to each other in astonishment. When I kicked the vampire she rolled along the ground, and the gap between us opened up wide. That single follow-up attack was clearly a poor move. And that exclamation of shock told my opponent I had made a mistake. I made two mistakes in a row. Seeing my dismay, she must have seen through my intentions. The vampire, with her hollowed-out cheek, sneered. ¡°Strike, oh flame¡ª[Flame Bolt]¡± What the vampire used was an extremely simplistic attack spell, [Flame Bolt]. Simple, easy to adjust, and one of the most popular attack spells. But the one she produced wasn¡¯t adjusted at all. However, the magic power that filled it far exceeded even my maximum. Enough power to bore into the ground was released, and the labyrinth shook grandly. Chapter 104: Lich Chapter 104: Lich Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: The story will be about the Demon Lord side¡¯s advantage until next time. Please wait a bit longer for the story of what happens next for them. The latter half switches to Levy¡¯s viewpoint. Please be aware. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bwoom¡­ A huge shock, big enough to shake the labyrinth itself, even reached up to here on the stairs. It¡¯s probably a consequence of Haster¡¯s battle. ¡°Haster¡­¡± I grow anxious about him as I turn and stare into the darkness enshrouded stairwell behind us. With his ¡°Immortality,¡± even on the off-chance that he loses, he won¡¯t die. Even so, his resuscitation would take six hours. When I think about what could be done to his defenseless body during that time, I feel anxious. ¡°Sis, front!¡± And the moment my attention was taken behind us, Alec¡¯s shout of caution came flying. Once I hurriedly brought my eyes back to the front, there was a magic circle floating there in mid-air¡ª ¡ªThat¡¯s¡­ [Flame Bolt], and a bunch of them?! The number of [Flame Bolts] deployed was six. The amount of magic filling the circle was nothing to scoff at. It¡¯ll break through a half-hearted barrier. I immediately deployed an [Ice Sword] to intercept them. ¡°Hoho¡­ You neutralized my attack with a spell cast after it? Fine skills.¡± Oozing out from the darkness, a floating figure appeared. It¡¯s the lich. The undead who stood at the Demon Lord¡¯s side five years ago, and more importantly made me lose in magic. ¡°If you would surrender to our camp, then I would not mind allowing you to live, but¡­ Well, either way I will not allow you to go any further.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s you¡­ Sorry, but we don¡¯t plan on surrendering or stopping. You¡¯re going to let us through.¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡ªI see. I had wondered what type of powerful individuals could have chased us to this floor, but I understand now.¡± Apparently our opponent remembered us too. If he¡¯s the only one here, then that means¡­ ¡°A magician as powerful as you is a sacrificial pawn?¡± ¡°Please. It is because of his majesty¡¯s trust in mine self that he ordered me to stop you here.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s how you want to frame it.¡± No matter how skilled at magic he might be, his spell deployment, accuracy, and especially power, are no match for mine. I¡¯ve been doing nothing but polishing them in these past five years, after all. The fact that I blocked his [Flame Bolts] with a later spell is proof of that. ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯re going to hold us all back as a lone magician. Why don¡¯t you surrender to us?¡± That said, he¡¯s not the kind of enemy we can easily head behind and breakaway from either. We slowly made a circle while measuring out distance to him as we inched towards the stairway to the next floor. ¡°I cannot do that. And also¡­ I believe I said I would not let you go!¡± Noticing what we were doing, the lich once again deployed [Flame Bolts]. Just before he activated that magic¡ª ¡°Ryaaaah!¡± ¡°Miss Levy?!¡± Miss Levy jumped into striking range of the lich. A single side swing from her crushed the magic circle, interrupting the invocation. The lich flew away, retaking some distance. In hot pursuit of him, Miss Levy once again attacked. This speed is a trick of hers that¡¯s only possible because of how earnestly she has trained her physical abilities. ¡°Get goin¡¯! This guy bein¡¯ here means the Demon Lord¡¯s already defeated the last floor¡¯s guardian!¡± ¡°Cheh?!¡± So he was just conversing with us to buy time on their end! It really is hard to think this lich, the Demon Lord¡¯s confidant, would let the Demon Lord take on the last guardian by himself. The Demon Lord certainly is powerful and unstoppable. But that power is still entirely physical. Moreover the owner of that power is arrogant about it, and doesn¡¯t seem to have honed his skills. He couldn¡¯t have left his magic based ace-in-the-hole lich here when he didn¡¯t even know what the next enemy would be. ¡°But Miss Levy¡­¡± ¡°He may be strong, but it¡¯s still one magic user. If¡¯n I just stay in close, I¡¯ll manage¡­ To turn this my way.¡± Even while having that conversation, she kept attacking the lich at frightening speed. Distance is taken, magic is released, a dodge, and then pursuit. Such a battle of offense and defense that I couldn¡¯t even keep up with was unfolding. ¡°Yuuri, we are going. We shall leave it to her.¡± ¡°Mary! We can¡¯t, someone has to support her.¡± ¡°No¡­ Her magic swordsmanship makes her the best for this. We¡¯ll leave this to you, Miss Levy!¡± We have no more time to spare. We can¡¯t waste any little bit time she¡¯s buying for us. Besides, the ¡°trump card¡± she has prepared is also perfect against that guy. ¡°Yuuri! Then, I¡¯ll stay and¡­¡± ¡°Can you keep up with that speed, Marle?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± With the effects of the magic swords ¡°Cthugha¡± and ¡°Hydra,¡± [Light Arrows] and [Flame Bolts] are cut down, as she moves in and continues to slash. That speed is already surpassing human limits. It¡¯s a speed that can maintained precisely because she¡¯s supporting it with magic. No matter how much Marle has grown, an ordinary person like her can¡¯t step in there. ¡°Alec¡¯s physical attacks wouldn¡¯t be able to land a telling blow on that lich. Marielle and I have to face off against the Demon Lord ahead of us. You can¡¯t keep up with that speed. So she¡¯ll be best off alone.¡± It may be cold, but I explain to her why we have to leave Miss Levy here alone. With the flame and ice enchanted magic swords she carries, she should be able to land effective attacks on the lich. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Marle. All that¡¯s left is the Demon Lord. We just need to go take him down and then we can hurry back.¡± ¡°Sir Alec¡­¡± He puts his hand on Marle¡¯s shoulder, and the two gaze at each other. ¡°Uhhh, just get movin¡¯ already¡­ I finally get to act cool, and ya¡¯ll are just standin¡¯ there!¡± ¡°S-sorry?!¡± So we left another companion behind, and headed to the next floor. ~*~ (Levy¡¯s perspective) ¡°Whew¡­ They finally done gone ahead.¡± I relax my legs from their top speed an¡¯ let out a breath. ¡®Course showin¡¯ that kinda opening against this lich is dangerous, but I really can¡¯t keep goin¡¯ full speed forever. ¡°Oho, for you to stop your feet¡­ Have you given up?¡± ¡°Aw please. Just takin¡¯ a teeency breath.¡± May just be momentary, but if them kind kids saw me bein¡¯ overwhelmed, they definitely wouldn¡¯t go on ahead. ¡®Sides¡­ Switchin¡¯ tactics takes the right timing, yeah? ¡°Well, I already got caught up in this ol¡¯ mess. Gotta at least do this much ass wipin¡¯.¡± Sayin¡¯ that, I activate [Flight] and [Telekinesis]. Ain¡¯t as good as Yuuri¡¯s, but I can manage a little bit o¡¯ parallel activation. To tell the truth, was me who thought up usin¡¯ [Telekinesis] to move faster. Yuuri was more apt for it, but¡­ That girl¡¯s a genuine monster. Not that she really knows it. ¡°I had wanted to compare my magic with that silver girl, though.¡± ¡°Uwa, Yuuri¡¯s darn popular. Well, I can use some magic myself. I¡¯ll keep ya company.¡± ¡°I can tell by seeing the accuracy of those spells; as a magician you are less than second-rate.¡± Though I may have ¡°Peerless Magic,¡± havin¡¯ its effects turned off as I improved made me pretty immature as a spell caster. The main effects of ¡°Peerless¡± are its optimizin¡¯ of growth, and supplementin¡¯ the user¡¯s aptitudes. With a proper spell caster, that trend would stretch ¡¯em straight into a super first class magician. Like Yuuri. ¡°Well yeah¡­ As a spell caster, yer right.¡± But I¡¯ve known that it ain¡¯t enough for a long time now. Which is exactly why I settled on this here battle style. This fightin¡¯ method that doesn¡¯t rely on spells, but speed to toss the enemy around. I take advantage o¡¯ my aptitude to use all magic, and use magic to reinforce my body as support, like I am now. ¡°Ya¡¯ll ready¡­? ¡¯cause here I come!¡± While floatin¡¯ through the air, the friction with the ground disappears, and with the combined effects of [Telekinesis] an¡¯ [Flight], I close in on the lich at an even faster speed than before. Five years ago, the reason I couldn¡¯t take down that lycanthrope is ¡¯cause my attacks were too light. E¡¯en so, if I sought power, my speed would drop as a result. That woulda resulted in losin¡¯ my sellin¡¯ point. That¡¯s why I thought this method up¡­ This fightin¡¯ style of increasin¡¯ my speed even further to increase my power. ¡°Yaaaaaah!¡® Cthugha¡¯s flame-enveloped slash assaulted the lich just like a shootin¡¯ star. To try an¡¯ keep me from getting¡¯ too close, he scattered [Flame Bolts] to intercept me. The interception [Flame Bolts] were in turn intercepted by Hydra. Soon as I got in close, a [Water Wall] stood right in front o¡¯ my eyes to block me. He mixed in more magic even while sendin¡¯ out all them [Flame Bolts]?! ¡°Kuh!¡± If I keep rushin¡¯ in like this, he¡¯ll block my sight. Plus if my whole body gets wet, then he could cast [Viscous] like Marielle does, and the battle¡¯d be over in that instant. After estimatin¡¯ the worst case, I made an immediate turn to the right. Soarin¡¯ through the air at high speed in all directions, it¡¯s almost like bein¡¯ a fighter plane. I swerve ¡¯round the [Water Wall] and catch the lich in my sights¡ª ¡°Ain¡¯t there?!¡± ¡°Over here.¡± Along with his call, a rain o¡¯ [Light Arrows] come down from above. Almost like I¡¯m cheatin¡¯, I accelerate to top speed and escape the attack range. ¡°Yer¡­ Just as used to battle as I¡¯d expect.¡± ¡®Nough sense to mix a [Water Wall] formula inside a [Flame Bolt] one. Courage to easily toss away the [Water Wall] barrier he predicted I¡¯d go right around. Experience to both predict I¡¯d dodge to the right, and to use that to move into position above, and deliver an attack without missin¡¯ a moment. Fer me, who¡¯s had a lot more experience in battles relyin¡¯ on strength, there ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ more unpleasant than that. ¡°Ain¡¯t bad at¡­¡± I started talkin¡¯, an¡¯ looked at my right arm. Still grippin¡¯ Cthugha¡­ My right arm, rollin¡¯ on the ground. ¡°Guh¡­ Ah¡­¡± Blood started gushin¡¯ out the wound like a fountain. I used my remaining left arm to bind it up at the base and stop the bleedin¡¯. Luckily I¡¯m wearin¡¯ clothes that bind in a bunch of placed to reduce unnecessary wind resistance, so I could stop the bleedin¡¯ with one arm just fine. Fact that he didn¡¯t take the chance to attack me must mean he¡¯s confident ¡¯bout his victory, huh¡­ ¡°The game is up. They were somewhat unusual and elaborate plans, but I will at least say I enjoyed myself to some degree.¡± ¡°Glad to hear it¡­ As an expression of gratitude¡­ Could ya maybe¡­ Heal up this wound for me?¡± ¡°Hum, then how about turning into one of my kind? Your wound will heal.¡± ¡°That ain¡¯t what I¡¯d call healin¡¯¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t particularly care if you want to or not. I will simply use your corpse as a zombie or something.¡± You bastard¡­ That ain¡¯t how you should be treatin¡¯ a maiden¡¯s corpse. But y¡¯know, this situation of him conversin¡¯ about every little thing¡­ He sure does resemble his owner. ¡°So that high speed maneuvering was your ¡°trump card¡± then. Hum, you¡¯ve taught me a very pleasant way of using it.¡± ¡°Show some gratitude.¡± ¡°Gratitude is unnecessary for those about to die, is it not?¡± He went an¡¯ spouted lines that made his eighth-grade syndrome seem even worse¡­ ¡°Well then, magic swordsman. ¡®Twas a good match to the death.¡± Sayin¡¯ that, he deployed his finishing [Light Arrow]. The magic power in it weren¡¯t bad even compared to one from Yuuri. ¡°Peerless¡± went an¡¯ politely analyzed the magic circle¡¯s contents for me. Just one shot. In it, all the magic power it can take, right in a straight line toward¡­ Cthugha, the fire that¡¯d deliver some real damage to the lich, was rollin¡¯ on the ground with my right arm. Hydra, which I was holdin¡¯ in my left, I dropped on the ground when I stopped my bleeding. I ain¡¯t got time to pick it up. And then¡­ The spell activated. Chapter 105: Demon Lord Rematch Chapter 105: Demon Lord Rematch Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: The Demon Lord side¡¯s ¡°SO STRONK¡± situation ends at this chapter. --------------------------------------------------------------- Floor 999. Finally the last stage of the labyrinth. However, we¡¯re missing two from our front line; Haster and Miss Levy. ¡°This is where we have to stop Demon Lord Masayoshi¡­¡± ¡°¡­ Yeah.¡± Saying that, we stepped onto the floor, where a single woman stood blocking our way. The old-fashioned clothes with plenty of exposure on her bewitching body¡­ Huh? Did they have a woman like that in their group? ¡°Uhh, who are you?¡± Without replying to my question, she¡­ Gave an unpleasant smile, one that split open all the way to her cheeks¡ª Her figure practically exploded, as it expanded and grew. The body of a snake more than 20 meters long. The upper half remained that of a woman, but that part of it alone accounted for a few meters of it. Her clearly inhuman appearance took up more than a third of the floor space. She looks almost like a giant lamia¡­ My immediate use of ¡°Appraisal¡± showed me this: ¡ªSnake God Tiamat ¡°The 999th floor¡­ Guardian?¡± ¡°No! If the guardian is here, then that means¡­¡± Yeah, if someone who defeated the guardian is here, then it won¡¯t appear. Which means nobody in here has defeated it. In other words¡­ ¡°The Demon Lord already went ahead?!¡± Almost as if acting in concert with Alec¡¯s voice, the World Tree began to faintly glow. ¡°We¡¯re¡­ Too late¡­ That monster became ¡°Unaging¡± and ¡°Immortal¡±?¡± ¡°¡ªNot yet!¡± In response to Marielle¡¯s despair, Alec shouted. ¡°It took Master a full night to become ¡°Immortal¡±. That Bahamut bastard said he¡¯d been beating around for a month¡­¡± ¡°Right, if we go now¡­!¡± Even if he¡¯s eaten the bud, that doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s just suddenly become ¡°Immortal¡±. Actually, Bahamut said this once, ¡°Those who ate a dragon¡¯s heart died right there.¡± If ¡°Immortality¡± came immediately, then they shouldn¡¯t die. We don¡¯t know how much the Demon Lord¡¯s ¡°Full Guard¡± works inside his body, but if an alteration big enough to remake his whole body is going to happen, then there¡¯s a high possibility he can¡¯t move around right now. ¡°So I¡¯m thinking¡­ I¡¯ll take this thing on, so you go on ahead, sis.¡± ¡°You¡¯re planning on facing the snake god by yourself?!¡± ¡°Is that so unreasonable?¡± ¡°Of course it is!¡± In response to Alec¡¯s innocent-sounding reply, Marle chewed him out. Fighting a demon beast strong enough to be called a god all alone is an absurd idea in its very basis. ¡°In that case, hurry and defeat that Demon Lord guy so you can come back. If I just have to dodge around for a while, then I¡¯ll manage somehow.¡± ¡°That¡¯s reckless!¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s reckless¡­ I still have to do it!¡± At his words I came to my senses. Among the four of us, the only ones who can stand up to that demon beast are me and Alec. Marielle doesn¡¯t have enough athletic ability, and Marle would be no match for it. As for me, I can¡¯t maintain [Body Reinforcement] for any longer than 30 minutes. So Alec¡¯s the only one who can do it. ¡°¡­ I understand. We¡¯ll be right back, so you better hang in there.¡± ¡°Got it. Don¡¯t expect much; I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± ¡°Yuuri!¡± ¡°And Marle¡­ If we lose any more hands, then we won¡¯t be able to take on the Demon Lord.¡± She has her own important role to play. Of course Marielle too, and me as well. And so¡­ ¡°Uraaaaaah!¡± Alec charged toward Tiamat, and slammed Gram against its titanic body. Though not as long as Sentinel, the great length of Gram amply delivered that arm strength, and cause the giant 20 meter bulk to shift way off position. We used that opening to slide ourselves in, and run up the stairwell ahead. ~*~ Finally floor 1000¡­ This floor has no ceiling, and is instead surrounded by the dim sky. Normally, at this altitude, even being able to breathe would be doubtful. But the World Tree is surrounded by oxygen from its active respiratory responses. Breathing wasn¡¯t hard for us at all. ¡°I wonder what¡¯s going on with atmospheric pressure and stuff¡­¡± ¡°Yuuri, now¡¯s not the time, hurry¡ª¡° It must have been a reaction to the [Light Ball] I was maintaining. In the center of the large space, next to a conspicuously long extended branch, there a man turned to us. ¡°Yo, too bad, huh. The bud is already in my stomach¡­ Wait, haven¡¯t I seen you guys somewhere before?¡± This bastard¡­ After calling me things like ¡°slave¡± and ¡°slut¡± he went and forgot my damn face?! ¡°We¡¯re the adventurers that you half-killed five years ago. More importantly, where¡¯s the bud?¡± ¡°Ooh, those guys¡­ Good job surviving. Actually, why are you still a shrimp?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just the kind of species I am. More importantly, where¡¯s the bud?¡± ¡°There¡¯s things like that too? Leave it to a fantasy world I guess.¡± Why did you believe that? Are you a genuine idiot¡­? ¡°More importantly¡ª¡° ¡°You¡¯re friggin¡¯ obnoxious, I told ya I ate it. And don¡¯t order me around. The hell you think you are, you want me to rape you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying. You shouldn¡¯t be okay if you¡¯ve eaten that.¡± Hearing my reply, the look brought to his face showed confusion. Then he held is stomach and started laughing. He literally grabbed his belly and laughed in a way that would even put Monty Python to shame. ¡°Kuh, kuhahahahHAHAHAHAH! You, you sound like you know a little something about this, huh? But you know, against my ¡°Full Guard,¡± I guess even that poisonous part must have been neutralized.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you really¡­¡± His gift even suppresses toxins then? Spurred on by my doubts, I activated ¡°Appraisal¡±. I investigated the Demon Lord¡¯s abilities. The result¡ª ¡ªStatus Effects: ¡°Ageless¡±, ¡°Immortal¡± Hard to believe though it is, there¡¯s no mistake. He appears to have eaten the bud. ¡°Yuuri¡­¡± ¡°It would seem that it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be¡­ That means I can¡¯t get revenge for Alma?¡± ¡°No¡­ This doesn¡¯t end yet!¡± This may end up being for nothing¡­ But we still have room to struggle! I take out Third Eye, use [Body Reinforcement], and prepare the volley. In this situation, with no bystanders around, I can attack at full strength. ¡°Take THIIIIS!¡± Together with my shout, I released the arrow. The attack by modified iron arrow gouged out the ground as it closed in on the Demon Lord. In response to that arrow, covered in a vacuum blade, the Demon Lord took Sentinel from his back with one hand, and crushed the arrow. ¡°Kgh, such a ridiculous¡­¡± ¡°Confirmed, you¡¯re an enemy.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not done yet!¡± Next I deployed a charged particle-creating [Heat Flash], and unleashed it at the Demon Lord. Wood chips from the World Tree¡¯s floor, destroyed by Third Eye¡¯s attack, ignited and assaulted the Demon Lord in a flash of light. The Demon Lord took Agni Blaze from his waist this time, and crossed it with Sentinel in defense. This way, even if he withstands the direct hit from [Heat Strike], the extreme radiant heat could burn his throat and lungs. ¡°Plus, at the very least¡­ I blocked his sight!¡± Making use of my now enhanced physical abilities, I jump directly in front of him. I¡¯m not carrying a close combat weapon, so I pulled an iron arrow out and used it to try and gouge out his eye. ¡°If the skin is too tough¡­ Then how about the eye!¡± The response I felt in my hand was a sensation like hitting hard rubber. After taking the [Heat Strike], the arrow that I stabbed at his slightly opened eyeball¡­ Didn¡¯t even sink in a single millimeter. ¡°Friggin¡¯¡­!¡± ¡°Your darting around is getting annoying, twerp!¡± Masayoshi immediately righted his stance and swung Sentinel sideways. I drop to the ground and let it pass, and this time deliver my knee kick to his tender spot. To be honest I didn¡¯t really want to do it, but maybe this part of him¡­ ¡°What, you want to touch it, you fucking slut?!¡± The feeling I got was as if I had just kicked a rock away. As he swung down his axe in response, I used Third Eye¡¯s flexibility to turn it away, and leaped backwards to take some distance. Right now my strength is [Reinforced] enough to tear apart rock, or even iron. If I didn¡¯t have that much muscle strength, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to draw Third Eye, after all. Even so, he¡¯s not taking the slightest damage¡­ This is making my choices problematic. Plus his ¡°Immortal¡± status effect makes using the ¡°trump card¡± I prepared pointless. Because even if I manage to kill him, he¡¯ll just regenerate from his ¡°Immortality¡±. ¡°But¡­ That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m out of options.¡± ¡°Hah, you still wanna go? Stop now and I wouldn¡¯t mind making you my sex slave¡­ No, how about my meat slave?¡± ¡°Take a look in a damn mirror and think again.¡± ¡°Oh, how fun¡­ Die!¡± ¡ªAfter experiencing death time after time, the mind would be the first thing to die. To break. I have experience with that. But supposing the Demon Lord was made an invalid¡­ The wounds in his mind and heart would eventually heal. This is something I¡¯ve also experienced. If, at that time, he¡¯s still ¡°Immortal,¡± what would he do while driven by revenge¡­? Truly frightening results would probably be waiting. In the moment while I want thinking about that, this time Masayoshi went on the assault. I secured some distance using my speed. Around me spread a fog-like barrier. Marielle must have cast [Fog Wall] on me as per our Agni Blaze countermeasures. This should mostly be able to mitigate flame damage. ¡°Think that¡¯ll work against this thing? Ignite!¡± Reacting to the keyword, the Agni Blaze in his left hand gushed forth flames. Sure enough, Masayoshi isn¡¯t taking a speck of damage from it. Even though Miss Levy¡¯s hand was burned in an instant by it. Brandishing the flame axe, Masayoshi brought it high over his head as he came in for the strike. Using the moisture of the fog all around me, I made frost to stick to one of his eyes. ¡°If direct attacks don¡¯t do any damage, then how about a cooled vapor effect!¡± I sent wind over the frost to evaporate it all at once, and used that vapor to accelerate the cooling effect. Plus the eyeball¡¯s moisture should also be taken with it. But the result was the frost alone being taken away. Forget magic effects, he¡¯s not even taking anything from secondary physical effects. ¡°God dammit all!¡± ¡°My gifts are the greatest!¡± ¡°Too bad the one using them is the worst!¡± Masayoshi swung both Sentinel and Agni Blaze around like they were fans. The slightest touch would send me flying. I barely dodged them as I piled on counterattacks. Luckily his technique was nothing to be amazed about. His style made use of his high physical strength and stamina to take an attack and use that opening to make a counterattack. If he knew he could take my attacks beforehand, then he should easily be able to deal with my level of skill. ¡°¡­ Hee, Haah!¡± ¡°What, breathing a little hard, aren¡¯t you?¡± But I guess the main issue ended up being basic endurance. Though my vitality may be strengthened, trading blows with the high speed and inexhaustible endurance of the Demon Lord is bringing on more fatigue than expected. Cut. Dodge. Stab. Strike. Shoot. Attack after attack was repelled, I would think of another method, and it would be repelled again¡­ Before I knew it, enough time had passed that [Body Reinforcement] was about ready to give out. I had just about exhausted all of my options too. And then I must have lost concentration. After dodging Sentinel, I took a clean hit from Agni Blaze¡¯s fire attack. ¡°Guauh?!¡± I screamed like a dog, rolled on the ground to quench my burning left hand, and continued rolling to gain some distance. ¡°Ah, aaah¡­ Haghua¡­¡± As a point of relief, the wound wasn¡¯t fatal. A wound like this will be regenerated by ¡°Golden Ratio¡± for me. Uh-uhh¡­ ¡°Golden¡­ Ratio¡±¡­? ¡°¡±Golden Ratio¡± is¡­ The gift¡¯s¡­ But he¡­ With his current¡­ Status effects¡ªwait?¡± I couldn¡¯t finish my thoughts while being tormented by the pain. But I think that, just now, I was overlooking something important¡­ And I feel like I was about to realize something fatal. ¡°What¡¯re you mumbling about, did ya go crazy from the pain? Hah?¡± ¡°Shut¡­ Up¡­ I¡¯m getting¡­ to something good. Could you not interrupt me?¡± ¡°You are a seriously irritating brat, ya bitch!¡± As he came in for the attack, I used a [Wind Blade] to sweep his feet. In the moment while he tripped a bit, I took my distance, and used [Wind Wall] to block off the space. And on his side of the wall¡ª ¡°[Sonar]!¡± I hit him with a full power blast of ultrasonic waves. If he can hear sound, then I should be able to damage his eardrums. If I can manage to break them, then I can neutralize him. Even if it didn¡¯t break them, then their having the flexibility to take enough sound to surpass human limits should put a burden on the brain! And on this side I have the [Wind Wall] to disturb the sound, and mitigate the damage¡­ ¡°Even then¡­ This much damage, huh?¡± As my vision shook, I took a knee and looked at Masayoshi. Sure enough he had fallen to the ground, writhing around. He¡¯s probably never taken so much damage since coming to this world. ¡°If I don¡¯t¡­ Stand up first¡­¡± As I tried to control my shaking knees, a light of healing was sent to me. It was Marielle. The shaking in my vision righted itself in a moment, and I was once again thankful for that healing¡­ Ability¡­? ¡°¡­ Marielle, I have a request.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± And then¡­ I declared my final bet. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: The 5th act is planned to end on chapter 110. Chapter 106: Offensive Chapter 106: Offensive Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: This is a continuation of chapter 103. The whole story is in Haster¡¯s perspective. Making a battle feel fast is difficult¡­ --------------------------------------------------------------- With a roar, the [Flame Bolt] came flying toward me. If it hits me directly, instant death would be unavoidable even for me. So I raised my left hand; to stop it at losing one arm in the worst case. ¡°¡ªI¡¯m counting on you, Yuuri!¡± The fire power of the ridiculously huge [Flame Bolt] melted the fasteners of the ¡°Beast King¡¯s Claw,¡± and knocked the weapon away. But my left hand was still fine. ¡ªThe Water Vine Gloves. The ¡°Water Vine Mantle¡± we obtained before, destroyed by the Demon Lord, and restored into these items by Yuuri. With their [Strength] enchantment, the far too solid burden of the impact from the Beast King¡¯s Claws was mitigated by them. And the [Flame Resistance] the item originally retained was further enhanced, resulting in [Complete Flame Resistance]. Even the impact from the [Flame Bolt¡¯s] explosion should have its heat completely blocked by it! ¡°Ku¡­ Oooooooooh!!¡± The hand I held up blocked the flames like it was a barrier. What flames slipped through the gaps in my fingers had diffused almost like a shower. Bwoom, an earthquake-likeimpact. But I¡¯m still fine¡ªso move¡­ Go! Pushing my way through the aftermath of the flame¡¯s impact, I dashed in the direction the vampire was. Beyond the curtain of flame was the vampire, whose own spell blocked her sight. ¡ªLosing line of sight from your own technique; that¡¯s a beginner move! The vampire showed a look of shock when I suddenly jumped right in front of her. Directing it at her face, I struck with the remaining Beast King¡¯s Claw on my right. ¡°Gaaaaah!¡± With the left half of her face shaved off, the vampire somersaulted along the ground. In follow-up, I directed a kick at her. This time, to keep her from getting away, I grabbed onto a part of her clothes and dragged her back down. I went to go for a mount position right there, but it¡¯s a vampire. I was tossed off by her superhuman strength. ¡°¡­ Tsk, won¡¯t quite let me land the decisive blow, huh.¡± By the time I restored my posture and faced her again, the wound on her face had mostly disappeared. I guess the vampire¡¯s regenerative power really will have to be sealed away some how. ¡°How dare you do that to me¡­¡± ¡°Took the words right out of my mouth.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s all you can do. Physical attacks aren¡¯t going to do any real damage to me.¡± ¡°Seems so. This is my first time fighting a vampire, but it really isn¡¯t effective.¡± It¡¯s not that no damage is getting through, but it¡¯s being rejuvenated in moments, and treated like it never happened. At this rate my endurance is going to be the first thing to give out. ¡°It¡¯s too late for regrets at this point¡­ I¡¯m going to drain every last drop of blood from you!¡± ¡°Just try it.¡± ¡°Acting tough is pointless; your attacks don¡¯t work.¡± ¡°You think so?¡± Come to think of it, she¡¯s never seen me use magic, has she? I did only use it once five years ago. Well, not like I have any reason to tell her. ¡°If you want to try testing that, then¡ª¡° ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll keep letting you do as you like!¡± The vampire cut off my words, and closed in. Looks like she¡¯s lost quite a bit of her cool. Just as could be expected of her physical abilities, I didn¡¯t have any time to deploy magic against that speed. But I¡¯ve taken on quick enemies any number of times. Methods for dealing with them are soaked into my whole body. ¡°Go ahead and die!¡± ¡°I told you I refuse!¡± I dodged the claws swung at me, and drew in close. Aiming for the instability of her swinging posture, I throw her, and topple her over. With her knocked to the ground and unable to run, I blast a [Wind Blade] at her. Her skin was shaved off. Her flesh was gouged out too. But once it reached her muscle, the blade of wind was stopped. This stiffness of muscle could be the source of the vampire¡¯s toughness. Her skin was split, and fat torn away; I sent any number of [Wind Blades] at her throat to cut her head off. ¡°Gofuh, you¡­ Don¡¯t¡­ Get carried away!¡± ¡°¡ªGuh?!¡± What the vampire released wasn¡¯t a magic spell or anything like it. It was just unrestrained magic power. Normally, without any attribute or direction to it, it shouldn¡¯t hold any power. But with the overwhelming magic power released, a physical power accompanied it, and pushed me away. ¡°Shit!¡± I was once again pushed out of grappling distance. This time magic didn¡¯t come flying. Probably because she knew I could use magic now. ¡°To think you could use magic too¡­ You made light of me.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t plan to hide it. You just jumped to that conclusion too hastily.¡± As expected, because it was a magic attack, the wound was slow to heal. When I attacked with the claws it would have already healed, and yet blood was still running from her throat. Magic attacks appear effective, but regrettably, [Wind Blade] leaves too shallow a wound. If I use the high rank [Wind Dusting] then I may be able to cause more severe wounds, but as to whether I could hit someone as fast as her or not¡­ Plus the attack range of it is pretty wide, so if I¡¯m not careful then I could be caught up in it. I¡¯m ¡°Immortal,¡± so I won¡¯t die, but if I¡¯m the only one to die, and my opponent ends up surviving, then she could try to attack everyone who went ahead from behind. ¡°¡­ I really am going to have to take you down here.¡± ¡°Hmph, you make a little wound and you already think you¡¯ve won? Unfortunately, I¡¯m still perfectly fine.¡± ¡°In that case, let¡¯s kill you in one go.¡± I lowered my hips and took an intercepting stance. Having her come forward to attack isn¡¯t exactly the best situation, but luckily she¡¯s clearly an amateur in close combat. Since I took an interception pose, that actually ended up making her feel hesitant to charge forward. ¡°Hmph, in that case¡­!¡± The vampire held both hands high aloft, and activated an [Ice Sword]. The sword of ice she made over head was practically big enough to be a spear. She used all her strength to throw it. She didn¡¯t modify the spell for pursuit or illusion. Both her spells and battle tactics really are still immature¡­ They¡¯ve relied on their powers to brute force their way through continuous wins, resulting in a lack of experience. ¡°Eat this!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t expect brute force techniques to keep working forever¡ª!¡± Above the trajectory of the incoming [Ice Sword], and slightly to the left, I create a [Wind Bolt]. Directing it to the right, I make the [Wind Bolt] explode. The aftermath of the explosion caused the [Ice Sword¡¯s] launch to go astray, and slash at the space to my right. Having her own magic warded off, the vampire was in shock. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Should you really be surprised by something as simple as that? There¡¯s more to come!¡± This time I again stepped forward. A bunch of the air in front of me was blown away by the [Wind Bolt], making for low air pressure. To ride on the wind coming in to refill the space, I quickly accelerate. There¡¯s low resistance air in front, and wind pushing at my back. Those two things caused my body to even further accelerate. The vampire, being used to my speed up until then, was taken completely off guard. I closed the distance all at once, and activated my prepared trump card magic¡ª ¡°¡ªElectroplate¡± At the command word, the [Teleport] activated. The next moment, gripped tightly in my hands was Agni Blaze, sent from home. Pushed away by Agni Blaze, the Beast King¡¯s Claw flew off. ¡°Ignite¡ª!¡± Reacting to the key word, flames gushed out of the whole axe. Normally this axe would completely scorch my hands, but¡­ The restored water vine equipment blocks the flames. I¡¯ll have to show my appreciation to Yuuri for reprocessing it into gloves and coming up with this idea. The flame-covered battleaxe. This thing should be able to cut through that neck¡ª ¡°You¡­?!¡± But of course my opponent is a vampire. She quickly shook off her surprise, and leaped to dodge the flaming blade sweeping toward her neck. However, it was slightly too late, and the jump cause the blade to gouge out her chest. I felt her bones being crushed. She avoided a fatal wound, but that feedback meant I caused heavy damage. This could work! ¡°Gahah, you bastard¡ªThat weapon?!¡± From that reaction she must have decided the Demon Lord was the only one who could use Agni Blaze. But unfortunately for you, Yuuri and I are magicians. ¡°I¡¯m a magician¡­ Using magic to compensate for what I lack is my main job!¡± This time I invoked [Body Reinforcement] too. Ever since obtaining the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood,¡± my chances to use it have drastically decreased, but this spell was originally my specialty. Plus by adding [Maintained] to the [Body Reinforcement] spell formula, it has now been remodeled so I can use other spells while it¡¯s still activated. This way, just like Yuuri, I can use spells while maneuvering at high speeds. In compensation, the magic consumption is also outrageous enough that no normal person can use it. But my magic power jumped up from the effects of the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Blood¡± and ¡°Heart,¡± so I don¡¯t have any problem with it now. With the vampire off-balance from pain and her forced leap, I caught up and once again swung the flame axe. With her posture still broken, the vampire extended her claws and moved to stop the blade. Normally it probably would have ended with the blade being stopped, however¡ª ¡°[Wind Bolt]!¡± I aimed a [Wind Bolt] at the spine of the axe, released, and accelerated it. Receiving a boost from the directed wind, the axe blade suddenly increased in velocity. I could feel the strain put on my right shoulder and wrist from the forced acceleration, but¡­ Ignore it! The superhuman strength of [Body Reinforcement], and acceleration from [Wind Bolt]. And in addition, the wind blowing in added to the flames, and the scorching hot blade cut straight through the claws. Without being stopped, the flame axe continued on to the vampire Claudia¡¯s neck¡ªand sent her head flying. ~*~ Like a rubber ball, the vampire¡¯s head bounced and rolled on the ground. As expected, regeneration must not be possible for just the head. Deciding that, I let out a big breath. ¡°¡­ Haa, they sure are a tenacious bunch.¡± ¡°I could say the same thing to you, boy.¡± I heard a voice from the ground. It¡¯s gotten pretty hoarse, but¡­ The vampire, huh. I¡¯m surprised that she¡¯s still breathing. ¡°You¡¯re still alive?¡± ¡°Unfortunately. But with my head cut off, I don¡¯t have long.¡± ¡°Be at ease. I¡¯ll deliver the finishing blow right away.¡± ¡°Well, calm down would you. I¡¯ll die anyway. More importantly¡­ You seriously kept thinking up one complicated plan after another¡­ This is why I hate humans.¡± ¡°Creativity and solving problems are what humans are all about, after all.¡± On that point, I¡¯m still a far cry from Yuuri though. ¡°That¡¯s why I fell in love with his majesty. That man is simple¡­ For better or worse.¡± ¡°Hmph, outwitting those types is my wife¡¯s specialty.¡± ¡°Just how devious is your wife¡­?¡± Coping power, and the power to see through things. Can¡¯t call yourself a sage just by having ridiculous magic power. Plus, when dealing with the kind of people who rely on power, it turns out just as we see here. If not for the toughness that vampires have, this battle probably would have been over a lot faster. ¡°Well whatever¡­ At the very end¡­ I got to have¡­ An interesting¡­ Battle.¡± ¡°Gonna die?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°¡­ We¡¯ll send your master along soon enough.¡± ¡°Hahah, that¡¯s¡­ Great. I look¡­ Forward to it¡­¡± With those as her last words, the vampire Claudia turned to dust. ¡°Now then, that took a bit of time, but¡­ Guess I should follow everyone¡­¡± Just as I turned toward the stairs, I started feeling dizzy. This is the feeling of magic power depletion. The consumption on the new version of [Body Reinforcement] is harsh. Plus there¡¯s the strain on my body from the forced high speed maneuvering¡­ I dropped to my knees to catch my breath. But no matter how much time passes, my breathing doesn¡¯t slow down. As if I had anemia, my vision was getting dark, and my mind hazy. ¡°This is bad¡­ Is this what Yuuri calls¡­ A ¡°blackout¡±?¡± That last acceleration must have made the blood in my head slosh from the front to the back. If the battle kept going like that, it would have been dangerous. Guess I was lucky the blood vessels in my brain didn¡¯t rupture, huh? I sure did overdo it. Just as I was making myself aware of that, my entire body was met with pain. In particular my ankle, right shoulder, plus the pain in my right wrist were awful. This is the price for that last forceful acceleration. ¡°Sorry, Yuuri¡­ Looks like I¡¯m gonna be¡­ A little late.¡± And just like that, I collapsed to the floor. Chapter 107: Trump Card Chapter 107: Trump Card Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: Continuation of chapter 104. The whole story is in Levy¡¯s perspective. --------------------------------------------------------------- A [Light Arrow] is launched by the lich. The flamin¡¯ shot flew in a direct course toward its target¡­ Which was, in fact, the very one who activated the spell. ¡°What?!¡± The spell, filled with enough power for certain death, was just barely dodged by the lich. Seein¡¯ that, all I could do was grin happily. Well, there was just a smidge of resentment in the grin too, I suppose. Takin¡¯ that moment, I searched my pouch and pulled out a pill. ¡°What just¡­?¡± Even while doubts were creepin¡¯ up in his head, he tried to inflict attacks on my defenseless self. [Flame Bolts] and [Light Arrows] were deployed continuously. Those spells were decoded by ¡°Peerless¡± one by one for me. And in dealin¡¯ with those, I also activated a spell¡ªsuccess. ¡°Nuoh!¡± All the spells deployed by the lich either vanished, or were sent clear toward the day after tomorrow. Success again. Gotta thank Yuuri for helpin¡¯ me with my trainin¡¯. ¡°This¡­ This is your doing!¡± ¡°Sure is.¡± ¡°Impossible¡­ Interfering with spell formulas while they are being deployed¡­ It¡¯s inconceivable!¡± ¡°Well, ya would think so normally.¡± Without takin¡¯ my ¡°sight¡± off him, I toss the pill from my hand into my mouth. This ¡°technique¡± ain¡¯t forgiving for even the slightest blink. ¡°But ya see, ¡°Peerless¡± makes it possible.¡± A gift to understand any kind of spell formula, hold aptitude for any kind of spell, and even optimize growth an¡¯ magic methods. Used normally, it¡¯d be more powerful to put it to work in the orthodox way, like Yuuri. Sure would be, but there was the possibility I was gonna have to turn someone raised on that gift into an enemy. Which is why I thought up this ¡°specialization against magicians¡± fightin¡¯ style. ¡°Didn¡¯t think I¡¯d actually get a chance to use it until after ya¡¯ll beat us black n¡¯ blue though, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°¡±Peerless¡± you say¡­ Such crude spell formulas while holding that gift¡­ Are you saying I¡¯ve been tricked?¡± It¡¯s a skeleton face, so I can¡¯t really tell, but I think he¡¯s lookin¡¯ all surprised? ¡°Naw, naw, my spells really are crude, y¡¯see? It¡¯s just that I ain¡¯t really usin¡¯ the gift all proper-like at all.¡± A magic circle has to be deployed before any kinda spell is activated. That thing¡¯s basically the spell¡¯s blueprint. The amount of magic power, the spell¡¯s attributes, purpose of it, target, number, distance, shape, range¡­ All of the effects n¡¯ specifications are set in there. So what if it were interfered with by addin¡¯ a little somethin¡¯ to the spell? Just by changin¡¯ the target from the opponent to the caster we get the change of trajectory from earlier. If the magnification number were changed to zero, then nothin¡¯ would appear. Assumin¡¯ I wanted the spell rendered invalid in the first place, then just by destroyin¡¯ the circle, nothin¡¯ would even activate. Magic circles are the kinda thing that can be customized normally anyway. If it were a caster without any strength in application, then they¡¯d be compinsatin¡¯ by lookin¡¯ over all kinds of modified circles. I ain¡¯t particularly skillful myself, but ¡°Peerless¡± compensates that part for me. All¡¯s I gotta do is rewrite the deployed spell before it activates. Where should I be tamperin¡¯ with it? Where should I rewrite to break it? Naturally it don¡¯t take even a second for the deployment, so normally ya wouldn¡¯t be able to get a good look at it. But if ya got ¡°Peerless Magic,¡± then that becomes possible. ¡°Impossible¡­ Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! Something like that?! It is ¡°Peerless Magic¡±! A coveted gift pertaining to of all types of magic aptitudes! It is truly a gift from god! And you would use it only for fighting against magicians?!¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure a magician like you would be pretty mad about me usin¡¯ it like this, huh. Gotta say I feel the same way¡­¡± The pill I crunched on¡ªthe ¡°Elixer¡±¡ªshowed its effects, an¡¯ my cut-off right arm regenerated. In the time it takes to blink, as if a clip was playin¡¯ in reverse, the bones, muscle, and skin grew and got restored. ¡°Uhwaa, my skin¡¯s all super smooth-like¡­¡± ¡°Pretty mad? That would make sense¡­ Among magicians, any would feel envious, jealous, and fall into insanity over that gift after all.¡± ¡°Naw, wait, that ain¡¯t what I¡¯m tryin¡¯ to say. It¡¯s about this ¡°technique¡±¡­ I was thinkin¡¯ I¡¯d be usin¡¯ it on Yuuri.¡± As my trump card against her. I already knew ¡¯bout the Demon Lord before this. Knew that any normal magic wouldn¡¯t do a dang thing. I knew ¡¯bout Yuuri too. That she went through somethin¡¯ terrible, but still stood back up to become a master magician. Some o¡¯ the responsibility for that unmistakably belongs to me. Spells ain¡¯t gonna pass against the Demon Lord. And I might¡¯a had to face off against a master magician. That¡¯s why this here ¡°technique¡± was created. ¡°This technique¡¯s for usin¡¯ against Yuuri. What I¡¯m sayin¡¯ is, me havin¡¯ to use this against you is like admittin¡¯ you¡¯re a caster on the same level as she is.¡± That¡¯s why I was hesitant to use it. An outstandin¡¯ girl who faced somethin¡¯ like that, and still didn¡¯t waiver. Comparin¡¯ her to this worst-o-the-worst bastard¡­ That complement¡­ To say this garbage¡­ ¡°Stands at the same level¡­? That¡¯s damn absurd.¡± Sayin¡¯ that, I pick up Hydra. One of my favorite swords in hand, I grinned¡­ Naw, smirked, with a fierce smile. Like a beast huntin¡¯ its prey. ¡°Shit¡­ Damn you¡­ What a thing to do¡­ What an utter waste¡­ If I had that gift¡­ This is inexcusable!¡± ¡°¡ªYer real colors are showin¡¯!¡± I charge in elliptically. Reason I didn¡¯t run straight in was so I could pick up ¡°Cthugha¡± ¡®long the way. Skimmin¡¯ across the ground with [Flight], without takin¡¯ my eyes off him, I recovered the magic sword. With both swords again in hand, I plunged in next to the lich in a single breath. Losin¡¯ his head and his composure in anger, the lich¡¯s response was late. ¡°Eat thiiis!¡± ¡°Curse yoooou!¡± The extreme acceleration from [Flight] and [Telekinesis] greatly increased the force o¡¯ the weapons. Cthugha¡¯s flamin¡¯ blade is a huge weak point for an undead lich. I drove that blade into the joint of his left arm! ¡°Guooooo?!¡± Surprisin¡¯ly, while the lich¡¯s left arm was flyin¡¯, he swung his right arm ¡¯round and hit me. ¡°¡ªThat ain¡¯t how a magician attacks!¡± Well, Yuuri does a lot of un-magician-ly things too though. My light body couldn¡¯t ward off the blow, an¡¯ a lot of distance opened up between us. ¡°Inexcusable¡­ Why has god granted such talent to a fool like you? ¡­ No¡­ Of course¡­ As far as gods go, I will¡­¡± The lich grumbled and muttered all incoherently. ¡°Uwah, total creep-out¡­¡± ¡°Silence! As I thought, the current god cannot be left alone! Now that it¡¯s come to this, I will have his majesty climb to the rank of ¡°god¡± by any means possible!¡± ¡°That moron, a god? Now that¡¯s impossible!¡± Dive in. Deploy. Obstruct. Slice. The slashin¡¯ and magic continued. Take distance, close the distance, swing the blades, defend, activate, interfere. All kinds o¡¯ tactics are tried, and magic used, and it gets blocked. ¡°And why are ya¡¯ll takin¡¯ orders from that numb-skull anyhow?!¡± ¡°You know nothing of it. In our barbaric region, power is everything! Following that simple truth to its conclusion, it is precisely because there are none stronger than his highness!¡± ¡°He ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ but hollow inside though!¡± ¡°As I said, that is the extent of our truth!¡± While tradin¡¯ swords and magic, I hit him with basically disparagin¡¯ questions. I wanted to know¡­ Why a caster this powerful would follow that shallow idiot. ¡°Any god that would grant a fool like you¡­ The talent of ¡°Peerless¡±¡­ Is not worth my belief!¡± ¡°Kuh?!¡± He must¡¯a decided magic wouldn¡¯t work; the lich started blindly swingin¡¯ his left arm around to attack me. I was late in dealin¡¯ with the sudden change in attack method, and got pushed away to magic distance again. That¡¯s when the World Tree faintly started to glow. ~*~ ¡°Ku, hahahahaha! FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Finally! Finally his majesty has become ¡°Immortal¡±!¡± ¡°¡­ Ya don¡¯t know that. Could be my companions that picked it.¡± ¡°Now that is impossible. How would they stop his majesty? Could they possibly stop that avatar of tyranny?!¡± Did we not make it in time? If that¡¯s the case¡­ It¡¯s all too quiet. ¡°Now that it has happened, we shall defeat god. We will topple the god tree known as the World Tree, and steal that source of faith away by its roots!¡± ¡°Well I ain¡¯t particularly opposed to that part, but y¡¯know¡ª¡° ¡°After that, his now ¡°Unaging,¡± and ¡°Immortal¡± majesty will be uplifted to the position of god, and correct this misguided world¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s the part that ain¡¯t gonna fly!¡± ¡°That god who did not grant me ¡°Talent¡± should perish for all I care!¡± He¡¯s gone completely nuts¡­ Probably got some kinda past as a caster where he hit a wall that he just couldn¡¯t get beyond. By nature, the stupidly huge tree known as the World Tree gathers faith from its splendor and healin¡¯ powers. Even now it¡¯s enshrined as this world¡¯s god. The World Tree itself didn¡¯t actually actively do anythin¡¯. Can it be worshiped as a god, and just how much faith can it gather up? Those could be called the very first steps for a god. ¡°Where ya gonna find morons who¡¯d believe in that moron!¡± ¡°There are more than enough rotting away in the barbaric region.¡± ¡°Only thing rottin¡¯ is yer head!¡± ¡ªThere ain¡¯t actually any rotten flesh on him though. I closed the distance again. I broke the [Flame Bolt] spell keepin¡¯ me in check. Dropped in close, and used Hydra to mow down his body. He held that attack back with his right hand. While too close to even have breathin¡¯ room¡­ The lich opened his mouth wide, and tried to bite at me. ¡°I¡¯m tellin¡¯ ya that ain¡¯t how a magician attacks!¡± With how magic don¡¯t work on me, I know he¡¯s gotta use physical attacks like this, but that just ain¡¯t right! I twisted my body and dodged the bite. The forced change in posture made my left shoulder squeal, but¡­ This here¡¯s the battle. I circled to the lich¡¯s right side, and, with Hydra bein¡¯ held back, I brought Cthugha over to the lich¡¯s body and struck Hydra with it. The ice wrapped around Hydra, met with the heat of Cthugha, evaporated in an instant¡ª And exploded all at once. A steam explosion. Accordin¡¯ to Yuuri that¡¯s what this is called. Cold air and ice surroundin¡¯ the ice sword, Hydra. When that¡¯s suddenly evaporated by the flame sword, Cthugha, that¡¯s the phenomenon it produces. It ain¡¯t a normal ability of the magic swords, just an incidentally produced physical phenomenon I was told. Gettin¡¯ caught up in it with the lich, we were both blown away. ¡®Course, the lich took the brunt of the explosion, so he was way more damaged, but I didn¡¯t exactly get off scott-free either. ¡°Ouchyowowowow¡­¡± The mist and haze surroundin¡¯ my vision eventually cleared up. My whole body was throbbin¡¯ with pain, and I had scalds all over. ¡°How¡¯d that lich guy end up¡­?¡± At the end of my view, a worn out dust cloth-like dark silhouette was there. Its arms and legs had gone flyin¡¯, and half the body was burnt and crumblin¡¯. It don¡¯t even hold a human shape no more. I dragged my hurtin¡¯ body up, and headed over to deliver the finishin¡¯ blow. ¡°Yo, how ya feelin¡¯¡­?¡± ¡°¡ªYou¡¯ve outdone me. I extend my apologies for calling you second-rate.¡± The left half of the skeleton¡¯s face was burnt and crumblin¡¯ too. ¡°Glad to see ya cooled yer top.¡± ¡°However, victory for this battle is ours. His majesty has already become ¡°Immortal¡±. With who he is, he will one day take the position of god.¡± ¡°Yer overestimatin¡¯ him.¡± ¡°Am I? Incredible power, an unstoppable body, and eternal life. If that is not what you would call a god, then what is? If he next gathers faith, then he will be able to perform a number of miracles too. Just like this World Tree.¡± ¡°¡­ Guess so. This here battle is lost. But we¡¯ll be winnin¡¯ the war. Yuuri will¡­ As long as she¡¯s goin¡¯ strong, there ain¡¯t no tellin¡¯ what¡¯ll happen.¡± I might just be strugglin¡¯ in vain. Sure, but she should be able to do somethin¡¯. For some reason, I can believe that. ¡°That ¡°hope¡± nonsense? How disgusting.¡± ¡°Ya don¡¯t know that girl, after all¡­¡± ¡°Say what you like. In any case, you have no future. I am sure you will be twisted and crushed by his majesty¡¯s own hands. Or perhaps Claudia¡¯s I suppose¡­¡± ¡°Not knowin¡¯ when to give up is one of our redeemin¡¯ qualities.¡± ¡°Struggle as much as you like. I shall¡­ Be waiting¡­ In¡­ Nirvana¡­¡± Sayin¡¯ that, the rare magic user, lich, turned to dust. ~*~ With the battle done, I took a seat on the floor. Then I looked straight up an¡¯ laid down on my back. Holdin¡¯ my body up any more is tough. ¡°Already went and used the elixer¡­¡± Did I make a mistake on when to use it? But if I hadn¡¯t used it right then, there ain¡¯t no way I woulda won. Wonder how they¡¯re doin¡¯ up above? What about Haster left below? Gotta go help ¡¯em out¡­ Which first? But I can¡¯t hardly move my body anymore. Unable to stop my gradually closin¡¯ eyelids, I kept layin¡¯ there, and lost consciousness. Chapter 108: Dragon King Chapter 108: Dragon King Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Translator¡¯s Note: All in Alec¡¯s perspective~ --------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing Marle and the rest climb the stairs, I let out a breath. But, not giving me that kind of time, Tiamat¡¯s tail came to mow me down. ¡°Shit, you could at least give me a moment to see them off!¡± I held Gram up to receive the assaulting tail. The thing was as thick as I am tall, and its armor-like scales stood up almost like a saw. If I was stroked by this tail, that alone would probably gouge out my flesh, and shave off my skin. With a clang, I took the tail¡¯s attack, and every bone in my body screamed. Even Gram gave off an unpleasant creaking noise when it took the blow. ¡°This¡­ Would have been some heavy baggage for Master or Levy to handle. Glad I¡¯m the one that was left.¡± Master, who mainly uses body work for counters, wouldn¡¯t be able to ward off this tail. And even Levy would probably have a hard time dodging this much mass continuously. ¡°Well, not that I can take it easy¡­ Either!¡± I swung upward with Gram, which was still taking the attack, and turned it aside overhead. When the tail passed, I dove into the opened space directly in front of the main body¡­ Or what appeared to be a human-like body anyway, and slashed. But that sword strike was blocked by its sharp claws. ¡°So even if I get past the tail, there¡¯s the claws to deal with? That¡¯s so unfair.¡± Upon drawing out, dodging, and blocking a counterattack with the claws, next I felt something coming from behind. I immediately turned toward the back, and thrust Gram. Making a sound like scraping bone, Gram¡¯s blade was stabbed into the tail coming in from behind me. Tiamat groaned unpleasantly, and swung its tail around. The tail still had Gram thrust in it while it swung around, and I couldn¡¯t exactly let go of my weapon, so we were all spun around in one big mixture. ¡°Uwa, wawawawah?!¡± Into the ground, into the ceiling, into the wall¡­ The whole tail struck against them, and I finally managed to get Gram out. I dropped to the ground and, after I took some distance by rolling, the tail slammed into where I had fallen. When I observed what kind of damage I managed to give it, it seemed like it didn¡¯t think of it as anything more than being stabbed by a needle. ¡°Not good¡­ Gram isn¡¯t the best weapon for this.¡± Gram is a fine sword, but it¡¯s not a good match-up against this enemy. This thing is great at cutting thick or large enemies, but against enemies like this, where the blade is just gonna be taken in and stopped by its scales, it can¡¯t make use of its sharp edge. For enemies like Tiamat, I would need something like Sentinel or Cleaver to smash the scales altogether. ¡°But Agni was handed over to Master, so I¡¯m just gonna have to work with what I¡¯ve got!¡± If the scales are gonna stop the blade, then I just have to aim for places without scales. After dodging the tail surrounding me, if I can just get a direct attack on the main body¡­ I might just be able to deliver some damage. Luckily this thing isn¡¯t the type that¡¯s good with finer movements. Getting in close shouldn¡¯t be all that difficult! ¡°Daaaahraaaaa!¡± I used Gram to smack away the tail when it hindered me from getting in close, and jumped out of the way to dodge the tail when it was attacking from above. After repeating that several times, I eventually succeeded in getting up next to it. ¡°Eat¡­ Eh?!¡± I knocked down the claws attacking me, and then just as I was taking a big swing of my sword, I felt a sense of discomfort. ¡ªThe tail isn¡¯t coming, I cleared away the claws¡­ But why aren¡¯t they coming back? Plenty enough time had passed for it to bring both its tail and claws back in, and recover its posture. The moment I reached that conclusion, the sense of discomfort turned into one of danger. Following only that bad feeling, I reflexively leaped far to the left. ¡°GOAAAAA!!¡± Tiamat roared like an earthquake. It opened its mouth wide¡­ And Tiamat¡¯s breath attack blew through the space where I just was. ¡°Close one¡­¡± The floor where I just was got gouged out, and scorched. That floor, made of the wood of the World Tree itself, was. ¡°This is comparable to Sis¡¯ ¡°Just die already¡± level spells.¡± But that¡¯s one more card from its hand. Tiamat¡¯s methods of attack are tail, claws, and breath. All of them are high power, but it¡¯s easy to see the ¡°tell¡± before the attacks. Dodging them is definitely possible. ¡°Give me¡­ A turn already!¡± After circling around from where I jumped away, I was next to the main body. By moving opposite where the body¡¯s connection to the tail was twisting, I rendered the tail¡¯s moves useless. All that¡¯s left this way is the claws and breath! ¡°Let¡¯s try this again¡­ Eat this!¡¯ To triumph in a single attack, cutting off the head would be simplest. Following that bit of common sense, I brought Gram¡¯s blade to Tiamat¡¯s neck. Even if it doesn¡¯t result in victory, I was certain it would inflict huge damage. But the response I got once again felt like hitting iron. ¡°Wha¡­?!¡± The cause was¡­ Its hair. Every single strand had become tiny snakes, and of course, steel-like scales could be seen covering their surface. Those covered Tiamat from the top of its head down its neck. ¡°Tsk, shiiit!¡± Just how many hidden tricks does this thing have¡­? I can¡¯t quite find an opening to attack. In my moment of surprise, Tiamat turned its body back. I¡¯m still near it, but we¡¯re just right back where we started. I handled the downpour of claws from up, down, left, and right, and parried away the tail attacking from behind. From the heavy attacks, my stamina gradually wore away. The very first attack would have been enough to bring death on most fighters. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Seriously¡­ Annoying!¡± I repelled the claws, and cut at the body. That attack was stopped by the snakes wrapped around its head too. This time the claw opposite where I was repelled came down. I stopped that with Gram¡ª ¡°GuaAaa?!¡± A sharp pain in my ankle. When I looked, a snake, fallen from its hair, had bit my ankle. My body started going numb. So it was even venomous¡­? ¡°Even if¡­ I cut them off¡­ They still live¡­?¡± My radically dulled movements weren¡¯t enough to dodge the next tail attack. It wasn¡¯t just an impact; the needle-like scales also scooped out the flesh of my right arm. ¡°AgaaaaAAaaaah!!¡± I guess it could be called luck though¡­ My body was protected by the Fafnir scale mail, so I was fine, but I was back to one arm again. On top of that, this time my good arm won¡¯t move. My legs being uninjured is also a windfall. Though my right leg is a little numb. ¡°Kgh¡­ But, I can still¡­ I can still move!¡± But no matter how tough I act, the situation is just getting worse. I guess I should pull out my ¡°trump card¡± while my body is still moving, huh¡­ But Tiamat must not have intended on giving me a moment to think; its claws swung wide to mow me down. With my left hand I used Gram to take it¡­ And, unable to block it, I was knocked away. If not for how tough Gram and the scale mail were, I would have taken a fatal wound there. ¡°Gohoh¡­ But, that attack¡­ Failed¡­¡± Though shredded ragged in an instant, I managed to take some distance. Now I¡¯ve got time to use it. I pulled out the cloth given to me by Sis, and spread it out. Drawn on it was a [Teleport] magic circle. With the same construction as the extra magic mantle, the magic power for the [Teleport] was already held in it. As a result its durability was significantly less than what it was designed after though. ¡°I can only use it once¡­ So please¡­ Be there!¡± With practically the feeling of a prayer, I activated the spell. What followed was the distinct light of [Teleport]. After the light had died down¡­ On the ground was the figure of a young boy, lying down and relaxed. ¡°Hmm? Hey, Alec. Work to do?¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry, but I¡¯m leaving it to you¡­ This is just a liiittle too much for me¡­¡± Talking with an attitude like we¡¯d just met by chance on a street corner, there was Bahamut. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a pretty showy way to get taken down¡­ Looks painful.¡± ¡°It hurts. Like hell.¡± Normally he wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the labyrinth. Because the World Tree recognizes him as a foreign contamination, and would knock him away if he went in the entrance or anywhere around it. ¡ªSo what if he was [Teleported] directly inside of it? Sis thought that, and made this magic circle. Bahamut was in our house¡¯s basement, managing the water and food [Teleport] circles for us. If we [Teleported] food out, he would replenish it for us. If we sent back empty water jugs, he would refill them for us. Put another way, he wasn¡¯t doing anything else. He didn¡¯t have anything to do. His Dragon King self could, if he felt like it, not have need of water or food for years. Dragons as a whole, guardians of their own nests, could indulge in indolence alone continuously. But that didn¡¯t mean there was a 100% chance he¡¯d be there. Food spoils, and he would have to go away to pump water. What we were using was the ¡°World Tree¡¯s water¡±. It¡¯s completely different from the water we could get from [Water Wall] or [Water Current]. He would have to go fill every single place where our water supply was. Plus there was visitors. Miss Remy would frequently visit and clean up the place for us. There were food deliveries too. Reports about the results of things we were showing at auctions, and carrying in the gold coin payments also had to be handled. And there were no small number of robbers who were aiming for those assets and looking to sneak in. Bahamut was taking on handling all of that. Apparently the food that Sis makes is just that valuable to him. He also seems to enjoy messing with Master and I quite a bit. So he¡¯s helping us with what he can. Put another way, he would step away from the [Teleport] circle when he was helping us with something, so¡­ It really was a roll of the dice whether he would be there or not. ¡°Hum, Tiamat, huh¡­ You¡¯re still acting as the guardian of floor 999? Oh, this is floor 999, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yeah, it is.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re still tied up with the world tree, I guess there¡¯s no substitute for you either.¡± With the appearance of a knew threat¡­ Way too big of a new threat, Tiamat unleashed its breath. Bahamut easily brought up a [Barrier] to block the extreme heat. ¡°Come to think of it, no Yuuri and the rest, huh? Where¡¯d they go?¡± ¡°We¡¯re acting separately right now. Yuuri is above, Master is below.¡± ¡°Above¡­ Finally reached floor 1000, huh. How deeply moving.¡± The unbelievably strong breath was blocked by Bahamut while he was exchanging small talk. This guy really is ridiculous. When Tiamat realized its breath attack didn¡¯t work, it switched to a tail attack. It bent the tip of it like a whip, and assaulted Bahamut while making explosive rupturing sounds. According to Yuuri, that explosive sound is proof that the tip went beyond the speed of sound or something? ¡ªThis bastard still had another card up its sleeve¡­ But even that was blocked one-handed by Bahamut. The offending tail was grabbed hold of with one hand. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have a whole lot of time. Could you leave?¡± Saying that, tail in hand, he threw Tiamat like it was a bug being shooed away. Leaving a horrific sound, the tail was torn off. ¡°GAAAAAAAA!¡± This time Tiamat screamed in pain. Hearing that, Bahamut nodded once, and his form suddenly expanded. After his mutation was over, there was a ¡°monster¡± in his place. Scales with a black luster. Smoke spilling from the sides of his mouth. A piercing glint in his eyes. And a titanic body easily surpassing Tiamat¡¯s. What was there transcended being summarized as ¡°holy¡± or ¡°evil¡±¡­ A ¡°symbol of power¡± stood there. Responding to that majestic figure, while being crushed by terror, Tiamat attacked. Its breath was repelled by the scales. Its claws were blocked, and broken off. Even if it wanted to swing its tail, it was torn; it wasn¡¯t there. The snake god¡¯s expression showed despair. And right now¡­ I know how it feels. Winning against this guy¡ªIs impossible. ¡°Good grief, you do not change. Neither your being tied to this tree, nor your attack methods, nor your lack of any questions about my current self¡­¡± From Bahamut¡¯s belly resounded a low voiced mutter. The moment his form changed, his voice was also filled with dignity. ¡°I have no business with a puppet. Hurry and begone.¡± Together with his pronouncement, Bahamut unleashed his breath. The flash burned my eyes and blocked my sight¡­ When I opened my eyes again, not a trace of Tiamat remained. Nor did the firm wall of the World Tree. ~*~ ¡°So anyway, all good now?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± Once he went back to human form, he also went back to his lighter tone. Even so, after seeing something like that, there¡¯s no way this could go back to normal. ¡°What? Were you scared?¡± ¡°Yeah, of course I was!¡± There was no point in lying. I was terrified down to my very core. When I think of what making an enemy of that would mean, all I feel is despair. I¡¯d almost consider it weird that I didn¡¯t piss myself. ¡°Well, you were always enthusiastically saying you¡¯ll surpass me, after all. You being docile feels a little off¡­ I actually kind of liked that, you know?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask the impossible¡­¡± ¡°And plus¡­ It¡¯s the time limit, huh?¡± Immediately after Bahamut said that, vines grew from the World Tree, and went to restrain him. ¡°I can easily break these vines, but¡­ They¡¯re so persistent. No matter how many times I pluck them, they still come to wrap around me. They¡¯re a real pain, so when you¡¯re all done here, just come get me, yeah?¡± ¡°Hey, the Demon Lord is up above here! Sis and the others are holding him back, could you at least¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯ll go fine. You should really believe in your sister more.¡± ¡°Like I said, don¡¯t ask the impossible!¡± With those as the last words, he was trapped inside the World Tree. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: Two more chapters in the 5th act. Three chapters until Yuuri is complete. Chapter 109: Conclusion Chapter 109: Conclusion Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: The Demon Lord fight. It will be decided here. --------------------------------------------------------------- Taking some distance, I held a quick conference with Marielle, making sure Masayoshi couldn¡¯t hear. The Demon Lord is currently unstoppable and immortal. If we don¡¯t suppress those abilities, then we¡¯ll have no way of winning. I thought up a number of possibilities to do that, but with him getting the immortality effect, anything we tried would end up pointless¡­ However! She¡¯s giving me her trust, so our secret talks easily finished. ¡°Yo, done talking?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to wipe that smug look off your face right now.¡± ¡°Hahah! If you¡¯re gonna do it, then why don¡¯t you try it? Hmm?¡± Don¡¯t need to tell me twice¡­ If my ¡°diagnosis¡± is correct, that smug attitude is going to be blown away in the blink of an eye. Leaving the reply in my mind aside, I pulled out one of my ¡°trump cards¡± from my pocket. The Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask¡­ It¡¯s a mask that grants the wearer increased recovery power, and also is cursed to be irremovable. It has also been modified a bit though. ¡°Demon Lord Masayoshi¡­ Say your prayers!¡± With both feet and my left hand, using everything, I ran across the ground. At this point I only have a few minutes left of [Body Reinforcement] time. I moved at nearly the speed of a jet. After neglecting his technique up until now, Masayoshi couldn¡¯t react even the slightest bit. But that was all it took to survive up to here. For him. Take an attack, repel it, and then counterattack. I was a tactic that made the most efficient use of his gifts. ¡ªThat¡¯s exactly why¡­ This attack will hit! With my left hand paddling against the ground, and both feet boring into the surface¡­ I dove in right next to Masayoshi. At this distance, neither Sentinel nor Agni Blaze could be used! Delivering my right hand to his face¡ªI slapped it onto him. ¡°Haah¡­?¡± Masayoshi made a befuddled noise. Stuck to that face of his was the Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask. I had taken the mask in my right hand, and pushed it onto his face. ¡°The hell is this¡­? Are you just making fun of me now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. This is the very first step.¡± Of the items devised to overthrow the Demon Lord, this is one¡­ ¡°Try to make a fool out of me¡­ I¡¯m gonna fucking kill you, brat!¡± His right arm swung over. I wasn¡¯t far enough away for a sword¡¯s blade, but he could still knock me away with the handle. And that alone would be enough to deliver a fatal wound to my body. But I can¡¯t let myself die right now! I desperately twist my broken posture around, and avoid a direct hit. Perhaps that had some worth, as it ended with just the right half of my belly being mowed down. ¡°Gahfua!¡± It was just a graze¡­ But that was enough to rupture a number of my organs. The wound was clearly fatal. But it wasn¡¯t enough for immediate death. I suppose I was lucky, huh? It hurt as much as dying. Might have been better if there was more of an external wound¡­ If it was a defect in my appearance, then ¡°Golden Ratio¡± would have almost immediately regenerated it for me. Anyway, I¡¯m still breathing at the moment. Which means¡ªTime for the next move!¡± ¡°Ma¡­ Mari-eeeeeel!¡± ¡°What?!¡± While I was bouncing and rolling along the ground like a rubber ball, I shouted her name. There are four steps to beating the Demon Lord, and I just completed one of them. Next is her turn! While using me as cover, she successfully got in close, and caught Masayoshi completely off guard. Concentrating magic power in her right hand, she slapped the palm of that hand into Masayoshi¡¯s stomach like a palm strike. ¡°Eat this¡ªIt¡¯s revenge for Alma!¡± The concentrated magic power permeated into Masayoshi¡¯s body. Seeing that, I confirmed the modification to the Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask had worked well. ¡ªThis¡¯ll work. Just¡­ Two more moves! But Marielle must have relaxed after that one blow, as she stopped moving. That¡¯s when Masayoshi¡¯s flame axe came charging in. ¡ªWait, she¡­ She¡¯s not ¡°Immortal,¡± you know?! I immediately activated [Telekinesis]. Instantly, my messed up stomach hurt enough that I felt like I was dying, but I didn¡¯t have a chance to care about that. ¡°Make it¡­ In time¡ª!¡± Just barely, her body floated, and with that the flame axe struck her breastplate. With [Time Stasis] cast on that armor, it should even be able to take his attack¡­ And by having her float in the air, we should be able to mitigate the impact, too! ¡°Gyaaaaaaa!¡± With her chest smashed into, Marielle screamed in a slightly unladylike fashion as she was sent flying. She hit the ground a number of times, rolled more than 20 meters, and finally crashed into the wall before she stopped. ¡°Gofuh, gahah¡­ Agu¡­¡± She¡¯s vomiting blood, and her limbs are bent at weird angles, but¡­ It looks like she¡¯s still breathing. Apparently she¡¯s still conscious too. Being who she is, she should be able to heal herself up. She fulfilled her role splendidly. The rest is our job. We¡¯ve hit him twice; next I have to take his attention this way¡­ ¡°I¡¯m telling ya it¡¯s useless¡­ Useless, useless, useless! See, my gift makes it so neither swords, nor magic¡­ Work on me at all! You get it? You don¡¯t get it, do you? ¡®Cause you¡¯re just a bunch of idiots that went against me.¡± ¡°¡­ Demon Lord¡­ Masayoshi.¡± ¡°Yeah, what? Still wanna go? Or you gonna give up? Not that I¡¯m letting you off now.¡± ¡°What do you think¡­ The first thing I studied, when I came to this world¡­ Is?¡± Buy time, and keep him focused on me. To do that, I endured the pain, and spun my words. ¡°Huh? ¡°This world¡±? Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re¡­?¡± ? ¡°Yeah, I was born in Japan.¡± ¡°Ha, hahah. Seriously? Seriously¡­ There was someone other than me who reincarnated. I see! Alright, then I¡¯ll promote you to being my wife. Rejoice!¡± This bastard¡­ Is still spouting that garbage after all this¡­ But thanks to the bastard being such a moron, it looks like we¡¯ll clear the third move. ¡°I¡¯m going to¡­ Refuse that one. Instead, let me tell you something. The first thing¡­ I studied, when I came to this world, is¡­ How to ¡°seal a gift,¡± understand?¡± ¡°¡­ Eh?¡± At the same time as his voice¡ª A sword stuck out of Masayoshi¡¯s chest. ¡°Aga¡­ GYAAAAAAAAH!¡± This is probably the first time since coming to this world that he¡¯s felt the pain of death. His limbs jumped and throbbed wildly like he was a bug specimen being stuck onto something. ¡°Wh-what?! Why?!¡± ¡°I am here¡­ As well! Miss Alma, Mister Tony, and Hans. This is their revenge!¡± The one to thrust the sword was Marle, who had been hiding up until then. The circlet adorning her forehead, the ¡°Owl¡¯s Eye,¡± strengthens detection ability, and stealth at the same time. Using that power, she successfully sneaked up from behind to deliver a fatal wound. Her attack accurately gouged into his heart, and pierced through his chest. With the sword penetrating through, she pried it to further open the wound, pulled it out, and took some distance. Seeing how she moved, I understood very well that she had really gained plenty of experience here. By prying at the sword, she cut through major blood vessels, and blood gushed out in time with the throbbing of his heart. ¡°You see¡­ I went through some terrible things, because of these gifts. So I studied it; how to seal gifts. And then I implemented it. The Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask is¡­ [Enchanted] with a ¡°Full Guard¡± gift seal.¡± ¡°Th-this thinggh¡­ Shit, it won¡¯t come off?! And I¡¯m not regenerating¡­ Why? I became ¡°Immortal,¡± didn¡¯t I?!¡± ¡°No. Your ¡°Immortality¡± is already quite gone.¡± Marielle said as she waveringly stood up. Looks like she finished healing her wounds. Her eyes are shaking with both hatred and rapture. ¡°Even should you consume the World Tree¡¯s bud, it takes time before your body adapts to it. Until just now, you certainly did hold the regenerative ability of ¡°Immortality,¡± but that was merely the result of the bud trying to survive within you, and nothing more.¡± ¡°Yeah, according to my ¡°Appraisal,¡± you¡­ Didn¡¯t have the ¡°Immortality¡± gift yet. Only ¡°status effect: Immortal¡±. In other words, just the ¡°immortality status abnormality¡± is what I discovered. That¡¯s¡­ Just like poison, an ¡°influence by an outside factor,¡± so¡­ What that means is, it was a ¡°temporary immortal status¡±.¡± While the pain in my abdomen has me in shreds, I continue the conversation. There¡¯s still one more thing to do. I can¡¯t die. ¡°Which is why I erased it for you. Using my [Antidote] magic. Show some gratitude.¡± ¡°Wha-, That¡­ Because of some cheap magic like that¡­¡± Antidote can be learned even in the early stages; it¡¯s relatively simple magic for a healer. Even so, using it at a level that would get rid of the World Tree¡¯s bud isn¡¯t simple at all. But the fact that Marielle¡¯s magic is strong enough to even influence the World Tree is something I¡¯ve known since five years ago at the entrance exam. [Antidote], which gets rid of foreign substances inside the body. With this, not having a chance to digest it, the not-fully-taken-in sprout was erased. ¡°Now, with your ¡°Full Guard¡± sealed, and even your ¡°Immortality¡± lost, you¡¯re just a powerful idiot.¡± ¡°Your overconfidence in not wearing armor became your enemy. Even I could easily pierce through you.¡± ¡°Shit, come off! I said, come off!¡± The curse keeping the Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask from being removed isn¡¯t going to let you take it off that easily. Plus the only one with the techniques to remove it here is me. Just one last thing to hit him with. ¡°That mask is cursed¡­ making it impossible to remove. You can¡¯t take it off. At least as long as it¡¯s not destroyed anyway.¡± ¡°Ha, hahah¡­ Is that so¡­ Well, thanks oh-so-much for telling me! You dimwit!¡± Saying that, he punched the Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask. Using ¡°Strong Arm,¡± against his own face. On the easily destroyed Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask, which didn¡¯t even have [Toughness] [Enchanted] on it. The considerably low-durability mask easily shattered¡ª And with a sound like crumpled paper being crushed underfoot, Masayoshi¡¯s head burst into pieces. ~*~ With the contents of his head grandly scattered everywhere, Masayoshi¡¯s body repeatedly convulsed in a way that wouldn¡¯t have been allowed for broadcast in my old country. Where I was still sitting, Masayoshi¡¯s eyeball came rolling over. ¡°You had only one way¡­ To survive. You just had to¡­ keep wearing¡­ that mask¡­ and that¡¯s all, okay?¡± With that said, I moved my shaking legs, and crushed the eyeball underfoot. A bursting sensation was conveyed to me. The Devil¡¯s Wailing Mask¡¯s healing ability. That, of course, didn¡¯t hold a candle to the World Tree¡¯s. But the only thing keeping him alive after taking that fatal injury was, without question, that mask¡¯s power. The reason he didn¡¯t lose consciousness after having his heart pierced and gouged out, then losing a huge amount of blood, was because of that. But perhaps because he¡¯s not experienced with being on the verge of death, not even having been injured before, he didn¡¯t know that. And so I played the guide. For he whose pain made him lose the ability to make calm judgments. On the method for removing his own lifeline. That was the last move. ¡°To the very end¡­ He was a stupid man.¡± ¡°He couldn¡¯t exactly¡­ make calm judgments, on the verge of death. And I¡­ Knew that very well.¡± He doesn¡¯t have experience with death. Of course the only ones who probably have that kind of experience are Bahamut, Haster, and myself. But he¡¯s never even had experience with his life being in danger. Even after being thrown out from 16000 meters up, and making a gigantic crater in the ground, he still lived on. ¡°His gift defended him, to the point of over-protection¡­ Which is exactly why¡­ he had no ability to cope¡­ with danger.¡± ¡°I truly do not give a damn.¡± ¡°By the way¡­¡± Still crumpled on the ground, I looked up at Marielle and informed her of something important. ¡°Could you¡­ Hurry and heal me? I seriously feel¡­ Like I¡¯m gonna¡­ Die.¡± ¡°Aaaah, I am sorry! I completely forgot amidst my sense of accomplishment at achieving my vengeance!¡± ¡°Mary! We did it, we¡­ We defeated the Demon Lord!¡± Then Marle jumped onto her. In response to her crying and letting out words of delight, Marielle panicked. ¡°He- Marle! Not now, I have to treat Yuuri!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry! Yuuri are you okay?¡± ¡°No¡­ I¡¯m¡­ Done¡­¡± And with those words, I lost consciousness. Is it okay to cross the finish line now? Just¡­ kidding. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: Next is the end of act 5. Chapter 110: Destruction Chapter 110: Destruction Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: Last chapter of the 5th act. --------------------------------------------------------------- Upon thinly opening my eyes, the usual faces of all our members were lined up there. Haster, Miss Levy, and Alec too¡­ Everyone was fine. ¡°Thank goodness¡­ You¡¯re okay, right?¡± ¡°Are you in any position to talk about that right now?¡± ¡°Did I die?¡± ¡°My [Healing] barely made it in time. It has been about 30 minutes since then I would say.¡± So I guess not much time has passed then. When I checked the surroundings, Masayoshi¡¯s corpse had been left there as it was. ¡°You sure pulled it off nicely. That¡¯s my wife.¡± Perhaps noticing where I was looking, Haster gently stroked my head. ¡°What¡¯ll we do with the corpse? Even if it would make me immortal, I wouldn¡¯t wanna eat this guy¡¯s flesh.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think a change like that would happen, Sir Alec.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t really think ya¡¯ll would beat him. Ya seriously done it too¡­¡± ¡°I had heard that you were the one to mix them up in this though; is that not a terrible thing to say?¡± You little bitch. You brought us into this thinking we couldn¡¯t win? ¡°Uh, naw¡­ I believed in ya! I mean, it¡¯s Yuuri!¡± ¡°Haa¡­ Well whatever. More importantly¡­¡± I looked up at the sky once again. It was a dim sky, but with some blue deeply showing through. ¡­ I guess it really would be best to talk about it. ¡°About Demon Lord Masayoshi¡­ When I talked to him, I understood he came from the same place I did.¡± I already knew, but this is my first time talking to everyone about it. ¡°Same as you? Now that you mention it, where were you born Yuuri?¡± ¡°A different world. One with different rules and civilizations than here.¡± ¡°Wh-what?!¡± It¡¯s only natural he¡¯d be surprised. If your own wife said, ¡°I¡¯m actually someone from another world!,¡± or something, then I for one would carry her off to the psychiatrist. ¡°Both he and I were born, raised¡­ And then died there. Of course I wasn¡¯t ¡°Immortal¡± or anything like that; it was a very simple trip to the other side.¡± ¡°I see¡­ I guess that kinda makes sense now that you¡¯ve said it.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s Sis.¡± ¡°So Yuuri¡¯s been separated from her fleeting life somewhere else.¡± ¡°Which means your absurd ability to cope with things comes from that world then. Oh, but what of the Demon Lord¡­?¡± ¡°Alec, you¡¯re getting punished later. In any case, when I came to, I was in this world.¡± I decided against telling them about God and so forth. If I go that far, then I would definitely be seen as unstable. ¡°Just like in his case, people who come here from the same place as me often seem to hold strong gifts. I¡¯m the same way, but¡­ Moreover, they aren¡¯t necessarily only good people.¡± ¡°That Masayoshi guy was really self-absorbed, after all.¡± ¡°Well, I probably could have turned out that way.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t happen.¡± ¡°It would not.¡± Haster and Marle responded without delay. I¡¯m happy about the high evaluation, but it¡¯s one of those things that depends on the circumstances. ¡°It takes a big turning point for people to change, you know? I was met with a terrible situation, and learned the necessity of strength and diligence, but he might have just never had that chance.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying, depending on your gifts, you would have ended up like that? This is my assertion, but you definitely would not.¡± ¡°Gotta agree. Wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s in yer nature, but I think it¡¯s at the root of yer personality.¡± I don¡¯t particularly feel like advocating for him either, so I don¡¯t intend on dragging this out. ¡°Anyway, there are bad people in my birthplace too. And if those kinds of people come to this world holding strong gifts¡­¡± ¡°Then it will turn out like this Demon Lord disturbance¡­?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°But the World Tree¡¯s bud is gone, right? I heard about what happened from Marle.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not here now. But what about the future?¡± ¡°Even if ya talk about the future, the bud don¡¯t sprout but once every hundred years. Ain¡¯t something we¡¯ll be part of.¡± ¡°Even if everyone else won¡¯t, we will be.¡± The ¡°Immortal¡± and ¡°Unaging¡± Haster, Bahamut, and I will be. ¡°Aah¡­¡± ¡°We had everyone¡¯s outstanding help with us this time, but there¡¯s no guarantee it will be the same next time. In fact, having a lineup as good as this together might never happen again. Alec and Marle, Miss Levy and Marielle; it¡¯s more likely that talent of this level will never be around again.¡± ¡°Yeah, maybe¡­¡± ¡°Plus the next ¡°problem child¡± might not be as much of an idiot as Masayoshi.¡± ¡°In fact, it seems more likely that it will indeed not be the case.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯m thinking of blowing this World Tree away!¡± ¡°Is that not a bit extreme?!¡± The most shocked one was Marielle. Healers and religious beliefs have an unbreakable connection, so her objection to this is only natural. ¡°The World Tree is also an object of worship! If you were to destroy it¡­ This is a matter of life and death for healers.¡± ¡°Were you a World Tree believer, Marielle?¡± ¡°I am a believer in Water God Eir, but¡­¡± ¡°Then it won¡¯t affect you at all, right?¡± ¡°It is not my own problem alone.¡± There are faiths in gods other than the World Tree in this world. Sun God Horus, and Water God Eir are the centers of two big religions among them. Their scale doesn¡¯t even fill out a tenth of the size of the World Tree Faith. A faith based on an object of worship towering smack dab right there is naturally powerful. ¡°What do you think would have happened if Masayoshi had managed to return to the ground while ¡°Immortal¡±?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± With that personality of his, I don¡¯t think he would draw back to the barbaric region. I can¡¯t deny the possibility that he would invade here in Novelius, and dominate the human regions. If that happens, then there¡¯s his disposition. Make women slaves. Kill all men who oppose him. Even if a coup d¡¯etat occurred, he couldn¡¯t be killed. It would be the birth of an undying tyrant. ¡°I¡¯ll say this very clearly. I want to destroy the World Tree for my own future¡¯s sake. I don¡¯t give a damn about faiths or precepts or commandments.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡­ ¡­¡± Marielle was at a loss for words. She saw Masayoshi¡¯s atrocities, desperately resisted their result, and barely managed to obtain peace. That¡¯s exactly why there¡¯s no next time¡­ Those words must have put heavy pressure on her. ¡°There is not¡­ Much else to be done, right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°¡ªThen I leave it to you.¡± She spat out the words with teeth clenched. This may not have anything to do with her right now. But that ¡°next time¡± could involve her descendants. Which is probably why she accepted it. Nobody else seemed to have objections. The easily carried cloth with a [Teleport] magic circle woven into it was opened, and all the people aside from me were sent back. Bahamut? Well, not like he¡¯s going to die, being ¡°Immortal¡± and all. ~*~ That day in Novelius¡¯ capital city, Belit, several gigantic magic formations were observed. The formations drew a circle through the sky, thunder roared, and nearly half the World Tree was crushed, and vanished. Several knowledgeable people exchanged conjecture about the phenomenon, but the most common one suggested¡­ It was magic used by the Sage of Wind to repel the Demon Lord. ~*~ The outskirts of Belit. Yig came flying down to where I was. It¡¯s been a while since we last saw each other, so he seems really happy. ¡°Are you already leaving? That is unfortunate.¡± ¡°If I stick around this city any longer, I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ll send assassins after me.¡± ¡°Seeing as you destroyed their object of worship and all.¡± Haster answered while loading our luggage on to Yig. Miss Remy, who came to see us off, looked up at the World Tree and sighed. After being broken down by my magic, the World Tree shrunk to somewhere around 600 floors. Even then it stood taller than Everest though. 12000 meters, huh¡­? Naturally, after destroying the main point of their beliefs, the harsh treatment has been strong, and I can¡¯t stay in this city anymore. Bahamut also hasn¡¯t shown up after being blown away along with the World Tree. Well, it¡¯s not like he¡¯s dead, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll unexpectedly show his face around sometime. ¡°Well, probably not much else you can do. It¡¯s not like you could give the Demon Lord the bud. The guild intends on advocating for you as much as they can though.¡± ¡°For the World Tree Faith, you¡¯ve flattened their honor though.¡± ¡°But we¡¯re here too! I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine!¡± ¡°Haha¡­ Went from bein¡¯ a ¡°Grim Reaper¡± to bein¡¯ a ¡°God Killer¡±¡­¡± ¡°Oh come now, it¡¯s a little late for that! With the World Tree, the believers¡¯ main location gone, we have a whole bunch of things to do!¡± Miss Levy was being blasted by Marielle. The two of them are teaming up to travel the world apparently. With the source of their faith broken, there are also many people who can¡¯t use healing magic anymore. They say it¡¯s to relieve the chaos even a little bit. However, with this being ¡°a big chance to spread the Water God faith,¡± it¡¯s not as if her real ambitions aren¡¯t in there. ¡°Well, we can¡¯t exactly sell the house we¡¯ve been living in up until now, so we¡¯ll come back in secret sometimes. The [Teleport] circle is still there, after all.¡± ¡°As usual, the immigration office means nothing to you¡­¡± ¡°Finding back-roads is my specialty, after all.¡± ¡°As expected of the habitual law-breaker¡­ Oh right, Yuuri¡± ¡°What¡¯s that about being a law-breaker?¡± ¡°Forget about that for now. Do you know what they¡¯re calling you in the city now?¡± After destroying the World Tree, and returning to the city, I guess it¡¯s been exactly one week? During that time, everyone lazed around the house for two days, and on the third day we had a feast. Along with disposing of all the food and water we¡¯d stored up in the house. After that we learned about the harsh criticism against us, and decided to move. We¡¯ve been busy with transferring all the big luggage over to the cottage in Mareba, so we didn¡¯t have time to hear the rumors spreading around the city. ¡°I don¡¯t know. We didn¡¯t have time for that¡­ ¡°Commandment Breaker¡± or something?¡± A law-breaker who breaks sacred precepts. I¡¯ve caused a number of such incidents, so I know there are people who call me that. ¡°Sorry, not quite. In honor of your red eyes, violence in destroying the World Tree, and strength in defeating the Demon Lord, filled with terror they call you this¡ª¡° She paused for a moment before telling me. ¡°World Destroying Eyed* Yuuri¡± ((Akame no Yuuri)) --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: The ¡°world¡± character is not a typo. There will be a single epilogue after this, and then Yuuri¡¯s tale will be complete. Chapter 111: Afterward Chapter 111: Afterward Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: The last one. Bringing together the remaining material. --------------------------------------------------------------- Two years have passed since the World Tree was broken. We once again regained peace, and our usual quiet days have¡ª ¡°Owowowow! It hurts, it hurts, I¡¯m dying! I¡¯m seriously dying here, could you make it stop?!¡± ¡°Well of course it hurts, what do you expect? Come now, put some strength into it.¡± Yeah¡ª¡­ Along with great acclaim, my life is in a huge crisis. ~*~ With my bulging belly squirming, I can tell the inside is riotous. Yes, after successfully extracting the ovulation promoting agent from the orc fluid, I succeeded in becoming pregnant; I¡¯ve been fighting through labor for the past few hours. My water already broke, and all that¡¯s left is to push the baby out, but¡­ For me, that¡¯s the biggest mountain of all. ¡°Golden Ratio¡± was sealed, and getting a pregnant form was fine. But it¡¯s hard to call this complete physical disparity anything but problematic. ¡°Come on, push harder!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t I can¡¯t I can¡¯t I can¡¯t! Right, this is when we use that, the Hayflit limit? No uhhh, Samaze, right, the Samaze technique!¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t it the Lamaze technique?¡± A room in the cottage was isolated for childbirth, and thoroughly sterilized. Incidentally, since Marielle has experience in this, she came to be a midwife for me. As a bonus, Miss Levy came along, which is¡­ Well, it was within my expectations. ¡°I can¡¯t relax or expand anything! I¡¯m blaming you for thiiiiiis!¡± ¡°Honestly, very well. It certainly is a large burden with your body, so I will assist with some magic.¡± Immediately after Marielle declared that, the strength left my body all over, and the pain vanished. ¡°I have used [Analgesia] and [Relaxation], plus [Numbness]. We are going to be brute forcing this even more now, so I hope you are ready.¡± ¡°Ye-ah-wha¡­?¡± I don¡¯t think there are many times in a human¡¯s life when they get to experience a hand being driven inside their bellies. ~*~ ¡°Is Yuuri going to be okay¡­? No, of course I¡¯m worried about the child too!¡± ¡°Please calm down, Mister Haster. If you keep prowling around like a bear, then I won¡¯t be able to calm down anymore.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it, Marle.¡± I can¡¯t stop wandering around in front of the room. No matter how much I¡¯m told to calm down, it¡¯s impossible. Yuuri¡¯s body type clearly isn¡¯t ready for giving birth after all. We forced our way into the pregnancy knowing she¡¯s ¡°Immortal,¡± but I just can¡¯t get rid of this seed of worry. As it stands, Marle, enshrined solidly on the sofa, looks like the much more experienced one of us. Well, when seeing her own slightly bulging stomach, of course that would be the case though. It should only be about half a year until her delivery¡­ ¡°But with all the noise going on in there, it¡¯s making me anxious too.¡± ¡°Yuuri isn¡¯t very good with pain, after all.¡± ¡°Adaptability¡± and ¡°Golden Ratio¡±. Those two gifts give Yuuri her durability and regenerative abilities, but without both of them sealed, she couldn¡¯t have conceived. And without her resistance to pain from ¡°Adaptability¡± right now, she really is feeling the pain of death¡ª ¡°Aaah, we really should have at least had ¡°Adaptability¡± unsealed!¡± ¡°If you did that, then the baby would die. Master, please get a hold of yourself.¡± Next to Marle, with an arm around her shoulder, Alec had an easygoing expression. Just you wait. It¡¯ll be your turn half a year from now. Wander, wander. Fidget, fidget¡ª Just when I¡¯d lost count of how many times I passed the door, a voice resounded. ¡°Oaaaaaah! Uwaaaaah!¡± ¡°It¡¯s born?!¡± ¡°Yuuri, breathe! Her heart?!¡± ¡°No good, it¡¯s gone an¡¯ stopped.¡± ¡°YUURIIIIIIII!!¡± Unable to hold back, I pounced into the room. ~*~ When I woke up, I was in Haster¡¯s room. I immediately remembered what happened before I ¡°died¡±¡ª ¡°The baby?!¡± ¡°Right here.¡± The rocking chair next to the window. There Haster was sitting and holding the baby. I felt relieved seeing him in his usual calm demeanor. I¡¯m sure it will be that way from now until forever too. ¡°You worked hard¡­ Thank you.¡± ¡°No¡­ Umm, thank you too?¡± The baby was gently sleeping in his arms. ¡°The baby¡¯s name, have you decided Yuuri?¡± ¡°Have you decided, Haster?¡± By the time of the child¡¯s birth, we had all sorts of discussions about a name. We brought up all sorts of possibilities¡­ Too many possibilities; we couldn¡¯t decide. ¡°In the first place I don¡¯t even know if the baby is a boy or a girl?¡± ¡°Oh right¡­ That¡¯s true.¡± Just like his calm demeanor, his propensity for forgetfulness will also probably never change. ¡°It¡¯s a healthy baby boy. He downed a whole bottle as soon as he was born.¡± ¡°I hope that he ends up looking just like you, but without being a heavy drinker¡­ Let¡¯s see, how does the name ¡°Asuto¡± sound to you?¡± ¡°Astro,¡± I believe it means a person who travels through space? I thought of it when looking out the window at the endless night sky. And then, with a slight Japanese inflection mixed in¡­ If I was to express it in Japanese, I would probably write it ¡°Person of Tomorrow¡±. With hopes he¡¯ll be free enough to cross the skies, free enough to reach the future¡­ Maybe even reach my home some day¡­ Well, going that far would probably be impossible of course. ¡°Hum, not bad. Let¡¯s go with that. From now on, you are Asuto.¡± He looked down at Asuto. Perhaps he wasn¡¯t happy about the chair shaking so much? Asuto¡¯s eyes opened, and he started getting a bit cranky. ¡°Haster, could you get some milk ready please?¡± ¡°Me? I don¡¯t really want to let him go though¡­¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t even had a chance to hold him yet! You could at least hand him over for a little bit!¡± He seems to already have the air of a doting parent. I have ¡°Golden Ratio¡± and ¡°Adaptability¡± back in effect now. As a result, my body is back to how it was before pregnancy¡­ So milk isn¡¯t going to be coming out of me now. Well, not that there was much to suck on in the¡ªYeah, never mind. And so Asuto will probably have to be raised on cow and goat milk. After getting myself up, Asuto was given to me, and Haster left the bedroom. Small hands, and a small face. He has silver hair and red eyes just like mine. He doesn¡¯t look much like Haster at all, huh? ¡°Well, as long as you grow into a beautiful young boy, Mom will be very happy with that, okay?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t know ya were into shotas Yuuri?¡± Changing places with Haster, Miss Levy entered the room. She must have come to bring some drinks; she was holding cups in both hands. ¡°I guess I¡¯m going to be a doting parent too it seems.¡± ¡°I see, glad ya¡¯ll are doin¡¯ well.¡± ¡°What about Marle and Marielle?¡± ¡°Marle went on back to the village. Marielle was all tired and went to sleep.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry for being a difficult patient.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t no trouble. Ya¡¯ll are our buddies.¡± She handed one of the cups in her hands over to me. Inside is fruit juice. There was even ice inside, probably produced by magic. ¡°Been a long time comin¡¯, but¡­ Thanks. For everythin¡¯.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯d like you to show your gratitude in a different way.¡± ¡°What, ya have somethin¡¯ ya want?¡± ¡°The truth.¡± At my words, Miss Levy¡¯s mouth stopped for a moment. ¡°Miss Levy¡­ You¡¯re a ¡°reincarnator¡± aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Why did ya think that?¡± ¡°Livyatan¡ªLeviathan is a creature that exists over here too, but there exists no custom of pronouncing it that way in this world.¡± From the very moment I heard it, I thought it was odd. ¡°That so? Could be the Matala Alliance or Raum¡¯s dialect that it¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not. I already finished investigating at Mister Foras¡¯ place in Comb City. A creature from Hebrew mythology. Child of Tiamat. Though it¡¯s probably different from the snake god that Alec fought. Plus, with the volume of information in that ancient book store, I¡¯m certain that there¡¯s no mistake. The place even has connections to the thieves¡¯ guild; I¡¯m sure it¡¯s one of the best places in the world to gather information. ¡°Was the whole phantom thief disturbance on purpose so you could pull my reclusive self out into the open?¡± ¡°Haaa¡­ Well, yeah. Them Forest Bear folks came along too.¡± ¡°In a single year you moved from Belit to Cornus, caused the phantom thief disturbance, then headed back to Belit¡­ There was too little wasted effort in there.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ I had the time for.¡± While still holding the cup, she skillfully shrugged her shoulders. ¡°So, what did God tell you when he sent you here?¡± ¡°Bufuh?!¡± ¡°The timing was too perfect. I teleported in, and Masayoshi appeared as if he was chasing after me. In the same period, you appeared to have me contend with Masayoshi. It¡¯s harder to think that there wasn¡¯t any intention behind this.¡± ¡°Yer one scary girl. Was that all?¡± Of course it wasn¡¯t. Raising ¡°Peerless¡± up in that way presumes she would be going up against a magic specialist. And it could also be used to deal with someone magic doesn¡¯t work against. Excluding ¡°exceptions¡± like Haster, gifts are held from birth. An irregular way of nurturing it like hers would normally be unbelievable. In other words, she¡¯s a reincarnator from the same time as us or later. And it means she was moving under the assumption she would be fighting us. Someone who knows that there are multiple reincarnators like us here, and yet can move to stand against us. ¡ªGod¡¯s intervention is the only thing it could be. When I conveyed that to her, she opened her mouth in amazement. ¡°This world here ya see¡­ Their faith in the World Tree is just too strong. Practically a singular dictatorship. Ya know how dangerous that is, don¡¯t ya Yuuri?¡± I guess it would be like trying to spread Buddhism in middle age Europe. You would be suppressed by the masses, smothered, and then extinguished. Probably just as how the current Water God and Sun God faiths may have been on the verge of extinction. ¡°But see, intervenin¡¯ in other worlds is against the rules. Make it deviate too much, and ya chip away at its diversity. Besides¡­¡± ¡°Besides?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t exactly free of ambitions here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not planning a world war, I hope?¡± She grinned broadly, and in response I felt a cold shiver. ¡°Ain¡¯t plannin¡¯ to do anything like that. Just so long as the concept of ¡°God¡± weren¡¯t limited to that giant tree right in front of their eyes, that¡¯s all good. That way other new gods can be havin¡¯ room to be born.¡± ¡°So then, who are you really? If you¡¯re God¡¯s subordinate, then you weren¡¯t human, right?¡± ¡°Yer right about that, Yuuri. Special class god of destruction, and former angel trainee; the sea creature Leviathan.¡± ¡°Quite the big deal, huh. I see¡ªhm? Trainee?¡± If I remember right, the cause of my death was¡­ Don¡¯t tell me¡­? ¡°Yeah, ya weren¡¯t really supposed to get caught up in that, Yuuri. But sometimes people with some particularly strong abilities to interfere in destiny get caught in that stuff. Ya were one such case¡­ so I really felt bad ¡¯bout gettin¡¯ ya caught up in it and all. My apologies.¡± ¡°Masayoshi too then?¡± ¡°Yeah. So God just made some use of all that. Far as yer case was concerned, it couldn¡¯t really be considered much more than emergency treatment, but after seein¡¯ that personality¡­ Well, all sorts o¡¯ schemin¡¯ was done.¡± ¡°Please let me beat God up a little bit.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s stop that there, yeah?! Ah, I get how ya feel though. An¡¯ so I was reincarnated here. If Masayoshi goes on a rampage, then so as to stop him. To go an¡¯ destroy the World Tree. And to support yer happiness too. Was a little late on that, though.¡± ¡°But throwing away your position as a god and an angel to reincarnate¡­¡± ¡°With everythin¡¯ else bein¡¯ right, it was my mistake. Usin¡¯ Masayoshi to correct the levels of faith caused a lot of trouble, but¡­ Well, it was mostly reapin¡¯ what we sowed.¡± After doing all that as he pleased¡­ Miss Alma and the rest, along with a whole bunch of other harm was done. It really was reaping what they sowed. But using an idiot¡­ Is just pitiable. ¡°If I were to go an¡¯ die off, then well, I would just go back to where I was before, so that ain¡¯t somethin¡¯ to worry about. Plus I completed one other objective.¡± ¡°What other objective?¡± ¡°Ya know now, don¡¯t ya? How ya can die.¡± ¡°¡ªgh?!¡± The way we killed Masayoshi is, in other words, something that would work for me too. Meaning she¡¯s¡­ ¡°A way for my ¡°Immortal¡± self to die when I want to. You¡¯re here to teach me that?¡± ¡°Not that I was the one to really teach ya though. Well, just be thinkin¡¯ of it as aftercare.¡± Saying that, she fluttered her hand about while heading for the door. ¡°Well then, that should be everythin¡¯, yeah? Then I¡¯m gonna go get some sleep if ya don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°¡­ Yeah, good night.¡± Unable to come back to my senses from the shock, all I could do was see off her fleeting figure from behind. ~*~ ¡°A way to die, huh¡­?¡± If I seal my gifts, then even I can die. But that¡¯s something still far in the future. ¡°Not like I can die before this little boy gets bigger, after all.¡± I looked at my child, quietly sleeping in my arms, then giggled and smiled. Looks like Miss Levy¡¯s concern isn¡¯t necessary. ¡°Yuuri, I¡¯ve brought the milk. Now let me hold Asuto too.¡± The door opened, and Haster returned in haste. ¡°No. I am enjoying a ¡°woman¡¯s¡± happiness right now.¡± I¡¯m sure it¡¯s going to be a long, long time before I think about dying. Right now this ¡°happiness¡± is enough to keep me full! --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: Hakai Me no Yuuri is now concluded. Thank you very much for joining me in this long journey. I hope you¡¯ll join me for my next work too. Chapter 112: Moving Chapter 112: Moving Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations The first extra is a short one. Yuuri below! Author¡¯s Note: Activity reports given as a short extra stories section. If I come up with other things to write, I¡¯m thinking I will add them here. It¡¯s unknown whether I will write more of these through irregular updates, so I¡¯m just setting it as complete for now. --------------------------------------------------------------- The early part of five months after Asuto¡¯s birth. Thankfully my postpartum recovery went well¡­ Actually it didn¡¯t go so well, but once I reactivated ¡°Adaptability,¡± I healed up pretty simply. But anyway, we¡¯re living peacefully. Even now I was enjoying that peace by sewing baby clothes next to a sleeping Asuto, but then¡­ ¡°Ah?¡± I suddenly remembered a bit of knowledge from my past world. ¡°Ah, aaaaahh¡­¡± I remembered something important, something very important. ¡°This is a problem!¡± I kicked out of my chair and stood up. I put as little energy into it as I could, so as to keep from waking Asuto, and bounded out of the room. ~*~ ¡°HASTEEEEEEEER!¡± ¡°Whoa, what?!¡± I flew into his study while he was in the middle of his nighttime reading, and flung myself at his neck. Well, I actually put a little too much in to the jump, and amusingly nailed his face with my knees. ¡°Buguha?!¡± After he somersaulted onto the floor, without stopping I rode him, taking a mount position, and grabbed him up by the collar. ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem! We¡¯ve got a problem! We¡¯ve got a very very big problem, and while we¡¯re at it we¡¯ve got a pervert too!¡± ¡°Calm down, and take that insult back.¡± Seeing his calm attitude, I also regained a little of my composure. Well, his nose was bleeding though. ¡°So, what¡¯s the problem? And I¡¯m not a pervert.¡± ¡°Are you seriously saying that now? More importantly, I just remembered a little something from the past.¡± ¡°Some of that knowledge from your old home?¡± ¡°Yes. They did all kinds of research there, and they were also researching about the composition of breast milk.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s some¡­ Enviab- err, preferential research.¡± ¡°Apologize! To the people who honestly study this stuff! Right now!¡± ¡°O-oh?! I don¡¯t really get it, but sorry.¡± Feeling that he gave an incredibly rude opinion about earnest researchers, I once again shook his head around. ¡°Ahem, so about that¡­ Have you ever thought it strange? Infants come out of a completely sterile womb, but they don¡¯t suddenly get sick.¡± ¡°Ooh, yeah, true.¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually because, while the baby is in the womb, it gets help from the mother¡¯s immune system to protect against illnesses.¡± ¡°Oho?¡± ¡°But once the birth is over, the immunization from the mother is cut off. But the remaining strength of it is supposed to last for about half a year.¡± With a smug look on my face, I showcased what I remembered from an educational program long ago. I was getting really into it, so I started waving my finger around like a baton as I explained. Hearing my explanation about unborn children, Haster stroked around my abdomen, seeming very interested in it. Particularly around the uterus I guess. He didn¡¯t seem to be touching in a particularly lascivious manner, so I let it slide. ¡°So, when that half-year has passed, where do you think the immune system gets further replenishment from?¡± ¡°Dunno? Doesn¡¯t it form its own after that?¡± ¡°Humanity is pretty strong, huh? Well, that¡¯s not quite right. The answer is from the mother¡¯s milk.¡± Then he looked at my chest¡­ His sight held some pity. ¡°None here.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± After he happily delivered that rude remark, I punched his chest as hard as I could. Even though it was as hard as I could, the impact sounded pathetic. Yeah, sure, so I don¡¯t have breasts! Breast milk isn¡¯t going to come out, and my chest is depressing! And not in the emotional sense, but the actual ends of them! ¡°So do I have this right? You¡¯re saying that, since Asuto wasn¡¯t raised on breast milk, there¡¯s a possibility he could grow weak?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Depending on the circumstances, he could even catch a fatal illness.¡± ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be good.¡± ¡°Even so, if I can¡¯t make milk, then I can¡¯t make milk.¡± That¡¯s why I pounced over here in a panic. ¡°As a solution we could¡­ Hire a wet nurse?¡± ¡°That would work, but¡­ The only pregnant woman in Mareba right now is Marle.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not producing milk yet?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still just her seventh month, so not quite yet.¡± The immunization in Asuto will run out in one month, and a pregnancy lasts nine¡­ It¡¯s awfully close. People who aren¡¯t making milk might not do so until after the birth too. ¡°Cutting it close, huh. And this is nothing to make a pointless gamble on. Alright, if we go around Comb, there should be someone we can recruit to be a wet nurse. It¡¯s a good opportunity; why don¡¯t we move?¡± ¡°Move?¡± We¡¯ve been married for a little over seven years. This cottage has been where we lived ever since I was in training. But when it comes to raising Asuto, it¡¯s true that this area has many dangers. Dangerous places, dangerous beasts, dangerous magic tools, dangerous visitors¡­ Well, all sorts of things. On that point, Comb has a solid vigilante group, and its easy to find daily necessities too. We thought about moving into Mareba while he was small too, but¡­ ¡°Aren¡¯t there a lot of people there?¡± ¡°Not nearly as many as in Solkalis. Why worry about it now?¡± ¡°I guess¡­ You¡¯re right. Alright, then I¡¯ll go and start getting ready to move right away.¡± ¡°Whoa, hold on.¡± Saying that, while I was about to stand up and leave, he firmly held my waist down. It was like he was saying, ¡°I¡¯m not letting you get away,¡± he was holding so fiercely. ¡°You pushed your husband down, and mounted him¡­ You can¡¯t just leave me here like this, can you?¡± ¡°Wh-, w-w-w-what are you talking about?!¡± ¡°And it has been a long time since all of the pregnancy, birth, and after-birth stuff, too.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to wake Asuto up!¡± ¡°Good point. In other words he¡¯s asleep right now.¡± Oh no, he¡¯s really raring to go, isn¡¯t he?! We found something we need to do, so we really need to prioritize actually doing¡­ His hand went to the back of my neck, and a bit forcefully pulled my face to his. ¡ªAh, it¡¯s no good. I¡¯m getting dragged in. We ended up starting our moving work three days later. Why three days? After all this time, my hips gave out! Chapter 113: The Carnivores’ Banquet Chapter 113: The Carnivores¡¯ Banquet Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations Author¡¯s Note: An after story from Marielle¡¯s point of view. --------------------------------------------------------------- It is just about half a year after Yuuri¡¯s birthing. I, Marielle Blanche, am sitting in the secondary residence in Solkalis, with nothing but free time. ¡°Hmm, Marle¡¯s due date¡¯ll be comin¡¯ ¡¯round soon, yeah? Ain¡¯t it about time we should be headin¡¯ to Mareba?¡± Levy sat cross-legged atop the sofa, downing her wine cup. There are many points of poor manners visible here. Well, I am also sprawled out, chewing on dried meat though. ¡°I suppose so. However, we have the [Teleporter] installed for Mareba, so we can arrive there quite quickly.¡± ¡°Guess so. Been a while since we¡¯ve gotten together anyway; I¡¯d kinda like to laze around a while more.¡± We, who had been going around the nearby cities, spreading healing techniques that don¡¯t rely on faith, had returned to Solkalis and, along with Miss Remy, the three of us were holding a drinking party. It is a bit sad that it is just us women. I have also gotten to a very marriageable age. ¡°Haa, I am envious of those with men.¡± ¡°Little Asuto was pretty cute.¡± ¡°Perhaps I gave up on Sir Haster a bit too quickly?¡± ¡°Stop right there, yeah? Ya want Yuuri to come and kill ya?¡± Naturally I would not want to take her on¡­ With her magic power and battle abilities, I would have absolutely no way to win. ¡°Leaving that aside¡­ Aren¡¯t you two cutting loose a bit too much?¡± ¡°Think so?¡± ¡°This is normal; perfectly normal.¡± Besides, this is a party of only women who know our dispositions, so we can act with a bit less restraint¡­ ¡°Downing alcohol while your underwear is in clear view is definitely going too far! And Miss Mary, don¡¯t gnaw on dried meat while you¡¯re lying down! Can¡¯t you see how bad this is getting with everything you¡¯re doing?!¡± ¡°Ya¡¯ll worry too much, Remyyy¡± ¡°The only ones here are us girls; it is not an issue.¡± ¡°Lettin¡¯ down the defenses a bit is somethin¡¯ guys actually like, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°If it was an innocent defenselessness like Yuuri, then that would be one thing. But when women your age act this way, it just makes you seem like old maids.¡± ¡°O-old maids?!¡± I am still only twenty years old though! Even Levy is only twenty-four¡­ Well, I suppose referring to her that way is not an issue? ¡°I¡¯m saying you should worry a bit about how people see you! That¡¯s exactly why you don¡¯t have any guys around.¡± ¡°Th-that is an entirely separate¡­!¡± I panicked a bit having it suddenly pointed out, but¡­ Come to think of it, there have not been many men calling out to me lately, have there? ¡°Now that you mention it, in the past year here¡­ Nay, even longer, I have not been hit on, have I?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re talkin¡¯ ¡¯bout that, then even I¡­ Eh? But hadn¡¯t there been plenty of people ¡¯bout two years ago?¡± ¡°I had also frequently been asked out around the time of the labyrinth conquering, but¡­¡± I realized that within the two years here, the men trying to pick me up came to an abrupt halt. What might this mean? ¡°If you¡¯re oozing sloppiness as much as you two, then even men are going to shy away, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Remy, even I ain¡¯t gonna go out in front of people lookin¡¯ like this, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°I-indeed. Even I have some common sense.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way you can hide it all with a quick patch-up job. Men are surprisingly observant about things like this, alright?¡± ¡°I-is this truly so¡ª?!¡± More importantly, why have I suddenly slackened in these two years? That is the problem! If I do not determine the cause, then any efforts to correct it will land me back in the same place. ¡°The issue at hand, then, is why we have let loose so much in these past two years.¡± ¡°That kind of analysis and response thing is Yuuri¡¯s job; I ain¡¯t good at this stuff.¡± ¡°Think about it seriously! This problem involves you as well!¡± I have traveled to various places together with Levy in these two years, but¡­ In that time I thoroughly realized the abnormality of Yuuri and company. Yuuri, who can develop magic for many situations, and Sir Haster who develops magic tools. The ability to adapt and invent that comes with them makes things so simple that, once it has been experienced, nothing can replace it. ¡°The biggest problem is that nobody else can see you. In other words, since you¡¯ve been traveling, with just the two of you, I suppose you¡¯ve become insensitive to the public gaze?¡± ¡°So ya mean we should hire someone new?¡± ¡°With our abilities, hiring someone may be no simple¡­ Nay, should we hire another female, then we could plunge directly back into the same situation.¡± At that time we always had the eyes of Sir Haster and Alec around, so I also took some relative care of my appearance. Which would mean the best addition to our party truly would be a man? ¡°Guess so. If we can grab ourselves a nice boyfriend candidate at the same time, that¡¯d be perfect!¡± ¡°Oh, then maybe I¡¯ll try finding myself a boyfriend too.¡± ¡°Are ya just usin¡¯ us as bait, Remy?!¡± But I have heard the chances for forming couples within a party is high. Nurturing a man that you are seeing, while also deepening your bonds, may be a good plan. ¡°A speculative purchase; I suppose calling it that sounds bad, but in a sense, Sir Haster was also speculating when he took hold of Yuuri too¡­¡± ¡°Ah-ha, then it¡¯s done decided. Right then, Remy, introduce us to some young, good men, with personality, decent abilities, and roles that work with what we got.¡± ¡°Are you an idiot¡ª?!¡± That is obviously asking far too much, Levy¡­ ¡°Well, so long as they are compatible with us, that is enough¡­ But at the very least, I would prefer those who fill in the party roles.¡± ¡°Hrm, in that case¡­ Your own roles would be¡ª¡° ¡°Levy as the scout, and I as the healer.¡± ¡°Which means you¡¯ll want a front-line tank, or attacker.¡± ¡°I would like both the physical and magic sides covered.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, ya really think we¡¯ll get somethin¡¯ that convenient?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you¡ª! Ah, wait¡­?¡± After delivering a retort to Levy, Miss Remy went into some thought. ¡°Could you perhaps have an idea?¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s actually a perfect couple of party vacancies. It¡¯s a three person party, all aged mid-to-late twenties. Their abilities stand out. Looks aren¡¯t bad. As for roles, they¡¯re a physical attacker, tank, and fire class magician.¡± ¡°Oooh, ain¡¯t that perfect!¡± ¡°Their companion scout and healer are getting married, and going into retirement, so they¡¯re in a bit of a pickle apparently.¡± ¡°That is, once again¡­ Very convenient timing.¡± ¡°Anyone we might know?¡± ¡°They¡¯re pretty famous¡­ ¡°Forest Bear¡± is their name.¡± ~*~ ¡°Ahhchoo!¡± ¡°Augh, gross. Oreas, face away if you¡¯re gonna sneeze.¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry. I got a sudden chill, like some carnivorous beast was stalking up on us from behind.¡± ¡°What, caught a cold? Then I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve lost your appetite; gimme that meat.¡± ¡°No way. Eat your own portion, Kale.¡± ~*~ ¡°Ahh, them guys¡­¡± ¡°Oh, might you know them, Levy?¡± ¡°We¡¯re acquainted just a smidge. Pretty sure their leader, Jack, was pretty darn stupid.¡± Levy made a bitter face, but their name is valued as absolutely top class. The Wyvern Killers, Forest Bear. If I can successfully catch them, then my heart¡¯s desire of having a boyfriend¡­ But I do not want an idiot, do I? ¡°An idiot is a bit of a problem.¡± ¡°Oh? That stimulates a desire to take care of the person though. I kinda like that.¡± ¡°Someone a bit more intellectual and cool is what I go for.¡± ¡°In that case, Mister Oreas is that type. He¡¯s a bit of a magic nerd, but when he¡¯s serious his personality is kinda like Haster¡¯s.¡± ¡°That¡­ Is exactly in my strike zone!¡± I believe I have drawn a winner. I will not allow this chance to pass. ¡°Rather than some lanky thang, I¡¯d like someone more dependable-like. Ain¡¯t gotta be as much as Alec though.¡± ¡°Mister Kale is a tank, and quite reliable you know? He might even be stronger than Alec in physical strength.¡± ¡°Hohoh, That¡­ Ain¡¯t bad.¡± Though I am saying this myself¡­ I felt that all three of us got a hungry glint in our eyes at that moment. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s done decided then.¡± ¡°It is indeed decided.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll contact them right away. Give me Mister Jack.¡± ¡°Sure thang, sure thang. I ain¡¯t touchin¡¯ him.¡± ¡°Neither will I.¡± One week later, a strange rumor spread through Solkalis. It was said, ¡°The Bears were eaten¡±. --------------------------------------------------------------- Author¡¯s Note: Run, Bears! Seriously, get out of there?!